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CLASSICAL STUDIES: 



ESSAYS 



ANCIENT LITERATURE AND ART. 



WITH THE BIOGRAPHY AND CORRESPONDENCE OF 
EMINENT PHILOLOGISTS. 



j* 




BARNAS SEARS, 

PRESIDENT OF NEWTON THEOLOGICAL INSTITUTION. 

B. B. EDWARDS, 

PROFESSOR IN ANDOVER THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY. 

C. C. FELTON, 

PROFESSOR IN HARVARD UNIVERSITY. 



BOSTON: 
GOULD, KENDALL AND LINCOLN, 

59 WASHINGTON STREET. 

1843. 






Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1843, 
By GOULD, KENDALL & LINCOLN, 
In the Clerk's Office of the District Court of Massachusetts. ™^^ 



INTRODUCTION. 



In the United States, the question of classical education 
has often been discussed, and its utility sometimes vehemently 
denied. In the meantime, the study of the Greek and Roman 
authors, and the taste for ancient art, have been making 
constant progress, both in schools and colleges. Many of the 
choicest works of the classical writers have been carefully and 
learnedly edited by American scholars. Professor Woolsey's 
selection of the Attic Tragedies has been welcomed with 
applause, both at home and abroad ; and his recent edition of 
the Gorgias of Plato is the best edition of that admirable 
dialogue, for practical use, that has ever yet appeared. Other 
works, prepared on similar principles, have been published 
from time to time ; and, at present, the classical course, in 
several of our colleges, instead of being limited to a volume or 
two of extracts, embraces a series of entire works in all the 
leading departments of ancient literature. The mode of 
studying antiquity has also been materially changed and 
improved within a few years. History, the arts, the domestic 
life, the private and public usages, the mythology, and the 
education of the ancients, have been carefully investigated, and 
their scattered lights concentrated upon the literary remains of 



IV INTRODUCTION. 

antiquity. Thus classical scholarship in America is beginning 
to breathe the same spirit which animates it in the old world ; 
it is beginning to be something higher and better than the 
dry study of words and grammatical forms ; it is becoming a 
liberal and elegant pursuit ; a comprehensive appreciation of 
the greatest works in history, poetry, and the arts, that the 
genius of man has ever produced. 

Amidst the din of practical interests, the rivalries of 
commerce, and the great enterprises of the age, classical 
studies are gaining ground in public estimation. It must 
always be so with the advance of civilization. We must, 
however, confess with shame, that in American legislative 
assemblies, where we naturally look to find the highest 
courtesy of manners and the graces of literature, little 
proof of advancing culture, of any kind, is given. Scenes 
of brutality, to the disgrace and sorrow of the nation, are often 
enacted in the Congress of the United States, that seem to 
show that the night of barbarism is settling over the land. 
Many of the speeches delivered there, exhibit a coarseness 
and vulgarity of sentiment, a disregard or ignorance of the 
proprieties of speech, an utter insensibility to the elegances 
of letters, and to the humanizing influences of the arts, 
which must be bitterly deplored. When a work of art was 
lately received in Washington, — a work on which the great 
American sculptor had lavished all the resources of his 
genius, and spent several years in the flower of his life, — it 
was assailed by an honorable member, in a strain of ribaldry, 
which a gentleman cannot even quote. 

But the prospects of American education and refinement are 
more encouraging, if we turn from public to private life. It is 
a much more common thing for young men to continue their 
classical studies beyond the time of the college education, than 



INTRODUCTION. V 

it has been in former days. The orators and dramatists of 
Greece and Rome are frequently made the companions of the 
writers on law and divinity, though classical pursuits are 
sometimes represented as on the decline all over the world. 
Modern literature, throbbing with present life ; impassioned 
poetry, which the strong and exciting character of the age 
kindles into fiery expression, take hold of all hearts, stir up all 
minds, and leave but little time for the severer pursuits of the 
classical scholar. But this is a wrong view of the subject, 
at least in. the extent to which it is sometimes carried. The 
excitements of modern literature lend additional ardor to classical 
studies. The young blood of modern literature has put new life 
into the literature of the dead languages. That exquisitely 
beautiful poem, Goethe's Iphigenia at Tauris, has inseparably 
connected the name of the great German with him whom 
Aristotle calls the most tragic of poets, and who was Milton's 
most cherished bard. The comparison between the German 
and the Greek gives a fresh charm to the works of both. This 
point is admirably illustrated in Hermann's eloquent preface to 
his edition of the Iphigenia Taurica of Euripides. That most 
dehcate and harmonious tragic drama, the Ion of Mr. Talfourd, 
— whose composition shed a delight and a charm over many 
years of intense professional labor, — has led many a scholar 
back to the beautiful antique, from which the title and the 
general subject were taken ; and the applause with which 
this masterly re-production of the classical spirit and almost 
the antique form, was welcomed a few years ago, was a 
pleasant indication of the still existing love of antique beauty. 
The majestic simplicity of Milton's Samson Agonistes, and 
its Dorian choruses, forcibly bring to mind the Prometheus of 
iEschylus, and suggest very instructive comparisons between 
the lofty characters of the two poets. And who does not feel 
Aa 



VI INTRODUCTION. 

that he can better understand, and more profoundly appreciate, 
the glorious, but terrible imagination of the poet of Agamemnon, 
when he has once been moved and agitated by the awful power 
of Macbeth ; when the myriad-minded poet of England, in 
whom the genius of man took its sublimest flights, has once 
entered into and taken possession of his soul. 

But the Greek and Roman classics stand at the beginning 
and at the source of European culture. ' Nothing can displace 
them. Homer is the fountain-head of all European poetry 
and art. There he stands, venerable with nearly thirty 
centuries, touching his heroic harp to strains of unsurpassed, 
nay, unapproachable excellence and grandeur. All the features 
of a great heroic age, — the chivalry of the classical world, 
— from which European civilization dates, and political and 
domestic order take their rise, — stand forth in living reality, 
in his immortal pictures. There he stands, radiant with the 
beams of the early Grecian morning, as "jocund day stands 
tiptoe on the misty mountain top." Who is to drive him 
from his station there'? And how, then, is Homer to pass from 
the memory and the hearts of men? Impossible. It is not 
a question to be decided by a few petty and short-sighted 
utilitarian views. Homer's reign is firmly established over the 
literary world, and if any nation should ever become so 
barbarous as to banish him from their schools, the penalty and 
disgrace would be their own. The language of Homer, as a 
picturesque, melodious, and enchanting instrument of thought, 
has never been surpassed. 

Now these great ancients have been, time out of mind, 
the teachers of the civilized world. They form a common 
bond, which unites the cultivated minds of all nations and 
ages together. He who cuts himself off from the classics, 
excludes himself from a world of delightful associations with 



INTRODUCTION. VU 

the best minds. He fails to become a member of the great 
society of scholars ; he is an alien from the great community 
of letters. He may be a learned man ; he may have all the 
treasures of science at his command ; he may speak the modern 
languages with facility ; but if he have not imbued his mind 
with at- least a tincture of classical taste, he will inevitably 
feel, that a great defect exists in his intellectual culture. 

We have said, that the neglect of classical studies among 
liberally educated men was less general now than formerly. 
And yet these pursuits are too often thrown aside. Why 
should they be so 1 Why is classical study abandoned at all, 
at the close of the college course? Are there good reasons 
for laying it aside when one leaves the walls of the university? 
The apology is substantially this. It has no immediate 
connection with practical life. Imperative duty is not to be 
neglected for an elegant pastime. The lawyer and the 
physician must direct their energies to the business on which 
their living depends. The client does not inquire, whether 
an advocate is conversant with Greek metres, or can write 
beautiful Latin. A religious society seeks for a good 
theologian and pastor. They care little for the classical 
phrase of his discourses. In other words, the members of 
the learned professions must not diverge to the right hand 
or to the left. Even if classical learning should be, in some 
respects, connected with the practical business of life, it is 
not so regarded by the mass of the people. The lawyer, who 
is known to possess a fine classical taste, is less popular, other 
things being equal, than his neighbor, who is a lawyer, and 
nothing else. If he would be much sought after by clients, 
he must not read Homer, unless by stealth. 

This method of reasoning, however, does not seem to 
accord with facts. Some of the most successful men in 



Vlll INTRODUCTION. 

all the professions have been accomplished classical scholars, 
pursuing the study of the ancient languages in the midst of 
exhausting labors. A few instances may be cited. Edmund 
Burke said, that Virgil was a book which he always had 
within his reach. William Pitt was deeply versed in the 
niceties of construction and peculiarities of idiom, both in the 
Greek and Latin languages. It is mentioned of Curran, that, 
amid the distractions of business and ambition, he was all his 
life returning with fresh delight to the perusal of the classics. 
In the last journey which he ever took, Horace and Virgil were 
his travelling companions. The late chief justice Parsons, 
of Massachusetts, filling, perhaps, the most laborious office 
in the State, always found time to gratify his classical taste. 
John Luzac, an eminent professor of Greek at Leyden, spoke 
of him as "a giant in Greek criticism." Robert Hall, in 
the most active period of his ministry, devoted several hours in a 
day, for a number of years, to a thorough study of the classics. 
He often referred to Plato in terms of fervid eulogy, expressing 
his astonishment at the neglect into which he apprehended 
the writings of that philosopher were sinking. In our own 
neighborhood, an eminent lawyer, constantly employed in 
the duties of his profession, stands confessedly at the head 
of American philologists. A judge, also, in one of our 
metropolitan courts, whose practical duties are of a very 
laborious nature, is a profound and accurate Greek scholar. 

Reliance, however, in a question of this kind, need not be 
placed exclusively on special cases. It may be supported by 
satisfactory arguments, at least in relation to the clerical 
profession. A book written in Hebrew and Greek is their 
Magna Charta, their authoritative commission. Resort to 
translations is as obviously improper, as it would be for a 
constitutional lawyer to gain his knowledge of the political 



INTRODUCTION. IX 

institutions of the State at second hand. A mastery of the 
original languages of the Bible was, probably, never attained 
by any one, who was not familiar with classical Greek. The 
main element of the New Testament is the later Attic dialect, 
as modified by the intermingling of words from other languages. 
Even authors of the highest name, in regard to style, like 
Xenophon and Pindar, throw much valuable light on the 
Scriptures. Homer and Herodotus remind the reader, in a 
thousand places, of the sweet simplicity and childlike 
artlessness which delight us in the narratives of the Pentateuch. 
Philo and Josephus are among the best helps for the 
interpretation of parts of the Bible. A large portion of the 
standard commentaries on the Scriptures, from the time of 
Jerome down, have been written in Latin. 

The direct benefits of classical study to the medical and 
legal student may not be so obvious. The arguments which 
the lawyer employs, and the observations which direct the 
physician's practice, are more or less of recent origin. Still, 
medical science first struck its roots into Grecian soil. The 
fathers of the healing art wrote in the Greek language.. The 
distinguished physician, Boerhaave, who was well acquainted 
with Latin and Greek before he was eleven years old, was. 
forcibly struck, in the course of his subsequent reading, with 
the correct method and sterling sense of Hippocrates. An 
eminent American physician has said, that the best descriptions 
of the symptoms of disease are found in the Greek language. 
Roman law is the parent and germ of every code which has 
been formed since. No sovereign, not even Napoleon himself, 
has done so much for the science of law, as the Greek emperor 
Justinian. No language contains so many of the sources of 
scientific legislation as the Latin. It is a treasury of facts 
and principles down to our day. 



X INTRODUCTION. 

It may be urged, indeed, that there is no necessity for 
repairing to the original fountain. All that is valuable in 
the treatises of Hippocrates, or in the rescripts of Justinian, 
are readily accessible in the modern languages. Why 
compel the student to ascend to the little spring hidden under 
the moss of an old language, when he can drink of a river 
that flows fast by his own door, and which has been increased 
by a thousand fresh fountains'? A sufficient answer is, that 
we cannot understand a subject with certainty, if we do not 
trace it to its source. By the radical study of any topic, we 
come to feel an assurance of belief, which is one of the best 
elements of success, because it imparts to the mind a firm 
confidence in its own powers. It is said, that there are, in the 
writings of Hippocrates, some of the finest descriptions of 
the natural course of disease, disturbed neither by medicine 
nor violent interference. Now these characteristic touches, 
which are the marks of genius, as well as of an accurate 
understanding, cannot be enjoyed through a translation. The 
more picturesque they are, the more need of seeing the very 
shape and coloring by which they are delineated. So of law 
and political science. Who has laid the best foundation for 
statesmanship, the man that has patiently studied Demosthenes, 
Thucydides, and Polybius, in the original ; or he whose 
knowledge of ancient Greece is made up from Langhorne's 
Plutarch, and Mitford's jaundiced history'? Mere information is 
not the only thing which is needed. There are now American 
senators, whose heads are crammed with encyclopedias, but 
whose great, ponderous speeches have no other effect than to 
thin the senate chamber. A statesman needs that close, vivid 
apprehension of a principle or theory, which he can get from 
Thucydides, but not from Rollin. In the sciences of law 
and medicine, much is depending on nice discrimination in 



INTRODUCTION. XI 

language, or exact definition ; who is so well prepared to make 
accurate distinctions as he who is versed in the literature of 
those languages, where the greater number of medical and 
political terms have their origin? 

Still more important are the indirect benefits of classical 
study. Among these are its effects in securing completeness 
of character, both intellectual and moral. The powers of the 
soul are various in their structure, and are developed only by 
various nourishment. Being a bright image of the perfect 
Mind that formed it, the soul has susceptibilities for all things 
beautiful and sublime in nature and in art. The law graven on 
it is violated whenever its affections are hemmed in upon one 
dusty track. A man may be so absorbed with the cure of the 
maladies of the body, or of legislation, that a single faculty of 
his mind attains an enormous growth, while he has no ear 
for the music which comes from every part of the visible 
creation, or those finer strains uttered by every well-attuned 
human soul. 

An illustration of this tendency may be drawn from the 
clerical profession. A clergyman may limit his studies to 
Oriental literature. He may be inordinately fond of the 
literary treasures of the East. The poetry of the Hebrews is, 
undoubtedly, loftier than that of any other people. "The 
sweet singer of Israel" is the child of nature. He opens his 
imaginative soul to the full impression of the scenes around 
him. He is fettered by no passion for ideal beauty, by 
none of the devices of rhyme, metre, or fastidious criticism. 
His song breaks out in the stately rhythm of nature. All things 
tend towards the sublime. He looks off from Lebanon, and 
sees the sun setting on the level bosom of the " great sea, 
and wide on every hand," without an intervening object. 



XH INTRODUCTION. 

The same luminary, rising on a boundless desert of sand, is 
one of the grandest objects in nature. The tempest has a 
terrible commission to execute there. In his ideas of the true 
God, also, the Hebrew has, immeasurably, the superiority 
over the Greek and the Roman. By universal consent, the 
passages which are sublimest in Greek poetry, are those 
which make the nearest approach to the Hebrew delineations 
of the Divine attributes. 

Yet, on the other hand, in the quality of beauty, the Greek 
has greatly the advantage. His language is an exact copy 
of himself, easy, graceful, flexible, fashioned to express the 
subtlest conceptions, and to charm the most practised ear ; 
cultivated, till, as it should seem, cultivation could proceed no 
further; copious in its forms, perfect music in its movement. 
The scenery, too, of Greece, and the natural treasures which 
it contained, conspired to the same end. "Five hours' walk 
from the plain of Marathon," says Dr. "Wordsworth, "are the 
marble quarries of Pentelicus, inviting, by its perfect whiteness 
and splendor, the chisel of Phidias and Praxiteles. On another 
side of Athens, are the quarries of the snow-white Megarian, 
and the grey stone of Eleusis, to which Rome was indebted 
for some of her best buildings." All things tended to make 
the Greeks a nation of artists. They had the richest materials 
in overflowing abundance, the kindest sky for the preservation 
of their works, and an exquisite inward sense for fair proportion 
and beautiful forms. 

Now, have not such things an influence in training the 
mind of the theological scholar'? If he fails to cultivate his 
original susceptibilities for sweet sounds and delicate thoughts, 
or, in other words, if he does not repair to the primary sources 
and true models for instruction, so far will his soul continue 



INTRODUCTION. Xlll 

unformed and unsightly. If he cannot refresh his weary spirit, 
or unfold some of his better faculties by classical culture, he 
should accept it as a severe misfortune. 

Is the study of the modern tongues an equivalent? The 
French language has immense stores of science ; the German, 
of literature. Paris is the centre of medical knowledge ; Berlin 
and Heidelberg, of legal. Still, it may be doubted, whether 
the best works in any modern language are fitted, in the highest 
degree, to educate the soul. How different is the impression 
which is felt in the perusal of what are called the classical 
works in French and German, from that which is experienced 
while reading the Tusculan Questions, or the Phaedo? The 
difference, indeed, is partly owing to association. The latter 
have the ancient coloring upon them. There are a thousand 
time -hallowed reminiscences with old Hesiod and Homer. 
The modern languages remind us of copy-rights, and of the 
steam power-press. Yet it is not to be wholly ascribed to the 
mellowing effect of time. No languages ever were, none ever 
will be, polished, like the Greek and Latin. There is no 
similar instance in the ancient world. No such phenomenon 
will exist hereafter, because all the modern languages are 
necessarily undergoing rapid changes. The art of printing 
is as fatal to the perfection of the outward form in English 
or in German, as it is to the faultless calligraphy of the 
Persian scribe. Innumerable causes are at work to modify 
the German, a language which has some close affinities to 
the Greek. Should it cease to be, in some of the strange 
accidents of time, a spoken language, stopped in its mid-career, 
like a stream from the Alps suddenly congealed by the frost, 
what motley forms would it reveal! How different from the 
two classical languages! About these, there is a repose, a 
sculpture-like finish, a serenity, to which no modern dialect 



XIV INTRODUCTION. 

approaches. What a perfect correspondence between the 
thought and the expression. The writer does not stumble 
on a synonym, or a word somewhere in the neighborhood of 
that which was needed, like most modern authors, but hits the 
very word. We feel that it would be sacrilege to try to change 
it for another. In the best Greek writers, the collocation of 
words is wonderfully felicitous, not resulting from the laws of 
prosody alone, but from the musical soul of the writer. The 
Italian is called a beautiful language, but how unlike is its 
monotony to the endless variety of the Homeric hexameter, 
or the lofty rhythm of the Platonic prose. 

It is sometimes asked, in a skeptical tone, why this idolatrous 
attachment to the classics'? Why do Latin and Greek hold 
such a supremacy over the thousand tongues of earth? It is 
enough to answer, that the fact is beyond contradiction. We 
do not know why the Egyptian language was not more perfect. 
Yet we hardly feel bound to sit down and study Coptic for 
the purpose of improving our taste. It is not known why 
there have not been more than one Shakspeare and one Milton. 
But, because our attachment to these masters may be called 
idolatrous, ought we to betake ourselves to Sir Richard 
Blackmore's Creation and Glover's Leonidas? Just so with 
Greek and Latin. They happen to be the only languages 
which are developed according to the rules of perfect art. 
Therefore it is the wisdom of all public men, who would 
mature their own faculties, and labor worthily in their 
respective spheres, to devote a little time every day to these 
ancient masters of wisdom and eloquence. 

The members of the learned professions are necessarily 
involved in wearying cares. In the whirl of business, or in 
the collisions of interest, the feelings of the heart are 
apt to be blunted, and, though once delicate and gentle, to 



INTRODUCTION. XV 

become harsh and violent. Something is needed to soothe the 
chafed spirit. What better resort than to Cicero's Epistles, 
or Homer's Odyssey, in order to calm the troubled heart, and 
recall the pleasant days of early youth. The very sight of an 
ancient classic sometimes acts as a spell to lay the irritated 
temper. It speaks with the voice of an affectionate monitor, 
full of the words of wisdom. 

In the strifes of various kinds, which all men in public life 
must encounter, more or less, it is well that there is a common 
ground on which they can mingle in friendly intercourse. 
There is an ancient classical homestead, which has not been 
divided off among the different heirs. All will be received 
back with a joyous welcome. All have the same right to the 
fruits and flowers. No theories of government, no theological 
feuds, no small bickerings, may find admission among this 
happy gathering. There is a binding influence even in Greek 
and Latin words. In the very midst of a stormy debate, a 
felicitous classical allusion will sometimes restore good humor. 
On the floor of the British parliament, a well-timed citation 
from Horace has often been like oil poured upon the troubled 
waters. It recalls to whig and tory the happy days of 
Eton and of Westminster, or the ripening scholarship and 
joyous communion of later college days. In a neighboring 
State, there is a veteran statesman and scholar, who was 
fourteen years a senator of the United States, " whose selectest 
pleasure it has been, for sixty years, to commune with those 
immortal minds, who have bequeathed to the world the richest 
treasures of thought, and the most exquisite models of style." 
Who can tell the worth of this venerable Nestor, in maintaining 
the decorum of a deliberative body? The scenes of wild 
turmoil that have so often reigned in the lower branch, to the 
shame of the actors and the sorrow of the country, were not. 



XVI INTRODUCTION. 

caused, it may be confidently affirmed, by the classical scholars 
in that house. Those, who daily commune with the best 
minds of antiquity, may, and sometimes do, differ in political 
opinion, but they have no taste for the coarse dialect of the 
low-bred politician. The vernacular language is the amiory 
to which the demagogue resorts. A thorough classical 
training, and a continued recurrence, through life, to the.se 
sources of refined feeling and elegant thought, is one ol^'he 
best assurances for a kind and gentlemanly deportment in 
public men. 

A happy influence is exerted by classical study in another 
way. It is well known, that our mental and moral habits are 
intimately connected with our style of thinking and of speaking. 
Thus our sense of rectitude is very much dependent on the 
accuracy of the language which we employ. Confusion in 
speech leads to confusion in morals. Perspicuity in diction 
is often the parent of clear mental and moral conceptions. 
Hence, scarcely any thing is more important in the culture 
of the young, than exact attention to the nicer shades of 
thought ; than the ability to discriminate in respect to all 
terms, those relating to moral subjects particularly, which 
are, in general, regarded as synonymous. One of the chief 
benefits of classical study goes to this very point. It is 
itself a process of accurate comparison. It is taking the 
valuation, as it were, of the whole stock of two most copious 
languages. Some of the principal authors use words with 
wonderful precision. Plato, for instance, defines with 
microscopic acuteness. His power of analysis was, perhaps, 
never equalled. His ear seemed to be so trained as to detect 
the slightest differences both in the sense and in the sound of 
words. This is one reason why no translation can do justice 
either to his poetic cadences, or to his thoughts. No one can 



INTRODUCTION. XV11 

be familiar with such an author, and really perceive the fitness 
of his words, and the truth of the distinctions which they 
imply, without becoming himself a more exact reasoner and 
a nicer judge of moral truth. Language, when thus employed, 
is not a dead thing. It re-acts, with quickening power, on 
our minds and hearts. "When we use words of definite import, 
our intellectual and moral judgments will become definite. 
A hazy dialect is the parent of a hazy style of thinking, if it is 
not of doubtful actions. The dishonest man, or the dishonest 
State, often allow themselves to be imposed upon by a loose 
mode of reasoning, and a looser use of language. Here, then, 
may be drawn an argument not unimportant, in favor of 
continued attention to those finished models of style and of 
thought, which are found in the studies in question. They 
nourish a delicacy of perception, and the sentiments and feelings 
gradually gain that crystal clearness which belongs to the 
visible symbols. 

Once more, it is to be feared, that a degenerating process 
has been long going on in our vernacular tongue. There 
is danger that it will become the dialect of conceits, of 
prettinesses, of dashing coxcombry, or of affected strength, 
and of extravagant metaphor. Preachers, as well as writers, 
appear to regard convulsive force as the only quality 
of a good style. They seem to imagine that the human 
heart is, in all its moods, to be carried by storm. Their aim 
is the production of immediate practical effect. Hence, there 
is a struggle for the boldest figures and the most passionate 
oratory. The same tendency is seen in the hall of legislation, 
and pre-eminently in much of our popular literature. Passion ; 
over-statement ; ridiculous conceits ; the introduction of terms 
that have no citizenship in any language on earth ; a disregard 
of grammar ; an affected smartness, characterize, to a very 
Bb 



XV111 INTRODUCTION. 

melancholy degree, our recent literature. To be natural, is 
to. be antiquated. To use correct and elegant English, is to 
plod. Hesitancy in respect to the adoption of some new- 
fangled word, is the sure sign of a purist. Such writers 
as Addison and Swift are not to be mentioned in the ears of 
our " enterprising " age. The man or the woman, who should 
be caught reading the Spectator, would be looked upon as 
smitten with lunacy. In short, there is reason to fear, that 
our noble old tongue is changing into a dialect for traffickers, 
magazine-writers, and bedlamites. 

One way by which this acknowledged evil may be stayed, 
is a return to such books as Milton, Dry den and Cowper loved ; 
to such as breathed their spirit into the best literature of 
England ; to the old historians and poets, that were pondered 
over, from youth to hoary years, by her noblest divines, 
philosophers, and statesmen. Eloquence, both secular and 
sacred, such as the English world has never listened to 
elsewhere, has flowed from minds that were imbued with 
classical learning. 



TABLE OF CONTENTS 



Page. 
Introduction, 3 

I. 

Schools of German Philology, S 13 

II. 

Study of Greek Literature, E 33 

III. 
Study of Classical Antiquity, E 45 

IV. 

Wealth of the Greeks in Works of Plastic Art, F. 65 

V. 

Philological Correspondence, S 99 

David Ruhnken to John Daniel Ritter, .... 101 

Ruhnken to Ritter, 103 

Ruhnken to Ritter, 103 

Ruhnken to Ritter, 106 

Ruhnken to J. P. D'Orville, 106 

Ruhnken to D'Orville, 107 

Ruhnken to J. A. Ernesti, 107 

Ruhnken to Ernesti, . . 108 

Ruhnken to Ernesti, 108 

Ruhnken to Ernesti, 109 

Ruhnken to Ernesti, . . HO 

Ruhnken to Ernesti, HI 

C. G. Heyne to Ernesti, 112 



CONTENTS. 

Page. 

Ruhnkcn to Heyne, 113 

Ruhnken to Heyne, 114 

Rulmkcu to Heyne, 115 

Ruhnken to Heyne, 115 

Ruhnken to Heyne, 116 

Ruhnken to Heyne, 117 

Ruhnken to Immanuel Kant, 117 

Ruhnken to Thomas Tyrwhitt, 119 

Ruhnken to John Henry Voss, 119 

Voss to Ruhnken, 120 

Ruhnken to F. A. Wolf, 123 

Ruhnken to Wolf, 124 

Daniel Wyttenbach to William Cleaver, 125 

Wyttenbach to J. C. Banks, 128 

Wyttenbach to Thomas Gaisford, 129 

Wyttenbach to Gaisford, . . . . . . .130 

Wyttenbach to J. B. G. Villoison, 132 

Wyttenbach to Villoison, 132 

Wyttenbach to Pierre-Henri Larcher, 133 

Wyttenbach to Sainte Croix, 135 

Wyttenbach to Sainte Croix, 137 

Wyttenbach to J. A. Boissonade, 140 

Wyttenbach to Chardon la Rochette, 141 

Wyttenbach to Larcher, 142 

Wyttenbach to J. B. Gail, 143 

Wyttenbach to Count de Fontanes, . . . . 144 

Wyttenbach to H. C. A. Eichstaedt, 146 

Wyttenbach to J. C. Bang, . • 148 

Wyttenbach to Christian Daniel Beck, 150 

Wyttenbach to F. A. Wolf, 151 

Wyttenbach to Heyne, 153 

Wyttenbach to C. G. Schiltz, .156 

Wyttenbach to Wolf, 157 

Wyttenbach to Augustus Matthiae, ..... 158 

Wyttenbach to Frederic Creuzer, 161 

Wyttenbach to Creuzer, 163 

Wyttenbach to Augustus Bockh, i 164 

Wyttenbach to Heyne, 164 

Wyttenbach to A. H. Memeyer, 166 

J. C. Adelung to C. G. SchUtz .166 

J. A. Apel to Schiitz, .. . . . . . . . .167 

F. J. Bast to Schiltz, .168 

F. Scholl to SchOtz, . 169 

Immanuel Bekker to Schiltz, ...... 169 



CONTENTS. 



Augustus Bockh to Schl 

Bockh to Schiitz 7 

K. A. Bottiger to Schut 

Bottiger to Schutz, . 

Bottiger to Schutz, 

Bottiger to Schutz, . 

Bottiger to Schutz, 

Bottiger to Schutz, . 

Bottiger to Schutz, 

Bottiger to Schutz, . 

Bottiger to Schutz, 

A. B. Caillard to SchUt: 

Caillard to Schutz, 

Creuzer to Schutz, . 

Creuzer to Schutz, 

Creuzer to Schutz, . 

Eichstaedt to Schutz, 

Eichstaedt to Schtitz, 

J. G. Gruber to Schutz, 

Gruber to Schutz, 

Gruber to Schutz, . 

Gruber to Schutz, . 

Godfrey Hermann to Schutz, 

Hermann to Schutz, 

Hermann to Schutz, 

Hermann to Schutz, . 

C. D. Ilgen to Schutz, 

Frederic Jacobs to Schutz, 

Jacobs to Schutz, . 

Jacobs to Schutz, 

Jacobs to Schutz, . 

Jacobs to Schutz, 

Jacobs to Schutz, . 

Jacobs to Schutz, 

Jacobs to Schutz, 

Schutz to Jacobs, 

Schutz to Jacobs, . 

Schutz to Jacobs, 

G. Schafer to Schutz, 

Schafer to Schutz, . 

Schafer to Schutz, 

Schafer to Schutz, . 

Francis Passow to Hudtwalker, 

Passow to Ernest Breem, 



XX11 CONTENTS. 

Page. 

Passow to Jacobs, . 200 

Passow to Henry Voss, • ..;.... 203 

Passow to Voss, , 204 

Passow to Voss, : 20G 

Passow to Voss, ....••... 206 
Passow to Jacobs, 207 

VI. 
School of Philology in Holland, E. .... 209 

Early Philologists, .211 

Tiberius Hemsterhuys, 213 

L. C. Valckenaer, 228 

David Ruhnken, 229 

Daniel Wyttenbach, 246 

Philip Van Heusde, ........ 264 

Living Philologists, . . . . . . . . . 264 

VII. 
Superiority of the Greek Language in the use of its 

Dialects, F. 267 

VIII. 

History of the Latin Language, S 287 

IX. 

Education of the Moral Sentiment among the Ancient 

Greeks, F. . 313 

Notes, 355 



SCHOOLS OF GERMAN PHILOLOGY. 



CLASSICAL STUDIES. 



SCHOOLS OF GERMAN PHILOLOGY. 

Nothing in Germany attracts the attention of the 
literary world more than the philological attainments of 
her great scholars. While, on the one hand, we are 
interested to know the results of their immense learning 
and toil, in order that we may not remain ignorant of 
those things pertaining to antiquity, with which so many 
are familiar, we are not less concerned, on the other hand, 
to ascertain the process by which such scholarship is 
formed, so that we, also, may enter upon the same course 
of improvement. 

In giving some account of the principal classical 
philologists of Germany, we shall best accomplish our 
object, by exhibiting the peculiar character of the different 
schools of German philology, accompanied by examples 
of individuals, who have risen to eminence in Greek and 
Roman literature, only by efforts of an extraordinary 
character. 

Heyne and Winckelmann are the two individuals who 
have contributed most to the formation of the present 
character of German philology, and who, therefore, 
deserve our first attention. 
2 



14 



CLASSICAL STIUJlKS. 



Heyne was a native of Chemnitz, in the kingdom of 
Saxony. His parents lived in the greatest poverty. 
Want was the earliest companion of his childish sports. 
The first impressions made upon his heart were those 
produced by a mother's tears, on returning to her house, 
at the close of the week, without having sold enough of 
the cloth woven by her husband, to furnish bread for their 
children. His earliest employment was to wander about, 
endeavoring to force the sale of this article, in times 
of great commercial depression. Indeed, his father's 
condition was not unlike that of the starving English 
operatives at this moment. The heart of young Heyne 
was driven to desperation, and the hungry boy was 
naturally enough a violent Chartist in feeling; and he 
afterwards attributed it to the kindness of Providence, that 
there was no popular tumult to set fire to his patriotic 
soul. He entered the school in the fauxbourg, and, 
during the first year, gave lessons to little children, in 
order to raise money to pay his own tuition. At length, 
the ordinary instruction in the school no longer met his 
wants, and, to take lessons in Latin, would cost three 
cents a week more, which neither he nor his parents 
could provide. One day, as he was sent to a distant 
relative for a loaf of bread, his countenance showed that 
he had been weeping. On inquiry, it was ascertained 
that poverty kept him from those studies which he longed 
to pursue, and the three cents a week were at once 
promised him. The boy returned, tossing his loaf into 
the air, and bounding, with his bare feet, like a lamb. As 
he made rapid progress in his studies, the time soon came, 
when he could learn no more at the school in the suburbs. 
At this period, if there had been the least encouragement 
to industry, he would have become a weaver, like his 
father. His fondest desire was to enter the Latin school 
within the walls of the town : but whence could he obtain 



HEYNE WINCKELMANN. 15 

his gulden a week for tuition, his hooks, and his hlue 
mantle ? A pastor in the fauxbourg had received good 
accounts of the boy's talents and scholarship, and was, 
moreover, his second sponsor. These circumstances 
induced the good preacher to have the youth examined by 
a competent instructor ; and, the examination turning out 
favorably, he sent him to the Latin school, at his own 
expense. In this school he remained seven years, during 
which period he made great progress in his studies. 

At the age of nineteen, he went to Leipsic; but, on 
arriving at the university, he learned, for the first time, 
that his support was to be discontinued. Indeed, he had 
earned his living, for some time, by giving private lessons ; 
but he had been encouraged to expect the continued aid of 
the old preacher. Thus, with but two guldens in his 
pocket — less than two dollars — with a slender wardrobe, 
and with no books, he found himself a stranger, in a large 
city, about to enter the university. Most boys would have 
returned home at once, and have abandoned a pursuit 
beset with so many difficulties. Heyne was willing to 
endure any hardship, if he might go on with his studies. 
His sufferings, at this period, were almost incredible. He 
was reduced to such extreme distress, that a waiting-maid 
was moved to compassion, and actually supplied him daily 
with food from her own wages. " Dear creature," he 
afterwards exclaimed, when at the head of the critics of 
his age, " could I now but find thee among the living, 
how gladly would I repay thee !" Some of the professors 
admitted him gratuitously to their lectures ; one of them 
lent him books, and gave him advice ; and, among other 
things, advised him to follow Scaliger's example, and read 
the Greek authors through, in chronological order. He 
followed the advice with such ardor, or, in his own 
language, "with such folly," that, for more than six 
months, he slept only two nights in the week. But 



16 CLASSICAL STUDIES. 

another professor sent the beadle to demand the tuition for 
a course of lectures, a part of which only he had attended. 
Heyne was in distress. He had never succeeded in 
obtaining a stipend. He often had to buy his dinner 
with less than three pfennigs, or about one cent. At this 
time, he had an opportunity of becoming a private tutor 
in a family. " But I perceived," he observes, in his 
autobiography, " that to leave the university then, 
would ruin my scholarship for life. For several days, I 
struggled under these contending influences. I cannot 
now comprehend how it was, that I had the courage to 
decline the offer, and to pursue my studies at the 
university." These are among the most interesting 
incidents in Heyne's early life. But his evil star 
followed him to the very day of his appointment to the 
most important philological professorship in Germany. 
Even after he had finished his course in the university, 
and while he was in Dresden, living on promises of 
promotion, he could not afford to hire lodgings. A friend 
permitted him to stay in his room, but could offer him no 
bed. He slept on the floor, with books for his pillow. 
Heeren, his son-in-law, and biographer, says, that " a sort 
of soup, made of the empty pods of peas, was often his 
only repast." After a few years, when the place of 
Gesner, the celebrated professor of languages in Gottingen, 
became vacant by his death, Ruhnken, of Leyden, was 
invited to fill it. But he preferred not to leave Holland, 
where he had resided so long, and was so advantageously 
situated, and declined the appointment, adding the inquiry, 
why the university should think it necessary to go out of 
the country to find a worthy successor of Gesner; and 
affirming, that there was a young man in Saxony, who 
would soon fill Europe with his fame ; that his name was 
Christian Gottlob Heyne. A letter was immediately 
addressed to Ernesti, in Leipsic, to ascertain where the 



HEYNE WINCKELMANN. 17 

individual was to be found. All that Ernesti could say- 
was, that there was such a young man, and that he was 
somewhere in Dresden. Letters were then sent to the 
Saxon capital, but no information respecting Heyne could, 
at first, be obtained. Thus the residence of the candidate 
for the most important professorship in Germany could not, 
without difficulty, be found ! Ruhnken and Hemsterhuys, 
in Holland, had read his edition of Tibullus, and predicted 
his future greatness; and their word overcame all the 
doubts arising from the fact of his obscurity. 

From the hour of that appointment, we are to date the 
origin of the present school of German philology. Gesner 
and Ernesti had previously introduced a better taste ; but 
the comprehensiveness and thoroughness of modern 
German philology are first found in Heyne. Until his 
time, classical literature did not form a distinct profession. 
It was but a subsidiary branch of the other professions, 
especially of theology. Heyne was the first man who 
took his position, not as a theologian, or jurist, but as a 
philologist by profession. He enlarged the domain of 
philology, marked out its boundaries, and arranged its 
parts into a complete and independent system. 

We would not claim undue regard for this distinguished 
man, nor exalt him at the expense of others. Ernesti and 
Gesner have their just fame, and they can never be 
despoiled of it. But it would argue great ignorance of the 
facts in the case, to deny the distinction just made. Nor 
would we attribute to Heyne, what has been accomplished 
by his successors. Wolf, and Hermann, and Bockh have, 
unquestionably, made great advances upon him. 

But it would be wrong to attribute all the improvement, 
made in philology, to Heyne. Twelve years earlier, 
another poor boy, son of a cobbler, was born in Stendal, 
about midway between Berlin and Hamburg. The 
extraordinary force of his character alone raised him above 
2* 



IS CLASSICAL STUDIES. 

the occupation of his father. He pushed his way along 
in the world by his own resoluteness and unconquerable 
love of knowledge. In the Latin school — into which he 
found his way, nobody knows how — he maintained 
himself, as Luther did, by singing before the doors of the 
great, and by giving private lessons in music. In his 
sixteenth year, he went to Berlin, in order to enjoy better 
literary advantages. Fabricius had recently died; and 
the extensive and select library of that great scholar was 
about to be sold in Hamburg by public auction. This 
poor country boy felt an insatiable desire for some of the 
choice editions of the classics contained in that library. 
He accordingly undertook the journey from Berlin to 
Hamburg on foot, a distance of about 160 miles, and on 
his way, begged of the rich the money for the purchase, 
and returned on foot, with the books on his shoulders. 
We cannot pursue his early career any further. He 
entered the university of Halle. Afterwards, he became 
conrector, or usher, in the gymnasium of Seehausen, 
where he laid the foundation of his Greek scholarship. 
Having struggled with numerous difficulties, and made 
various fruitless attempts to enter upon a higher course, 
he finally succeeded in becoming librarian to a nobleman 
near Dresden, where his aspiring genius not only found 
nourishment in the literary treasures of that city, but 
received its proper direction, from the collections of art 
which adorn this Florence of Germany. It was here, that 
the way was, at length, opened for his being transferred to 
Rome, and placed in the midst of the ruins of the anci nt 
world. He was, at first, secretary to one of the cardinals, 
who needed the aid of a Greek scholar in his library. 
Winckelmann's progress in ancient learning and ancient 
art was wonderful. He read all the remains of Greek 
literature, in order to throw their concentrated light upon 
the history of art. Not only were these productions, 



HEYNE WINCKELMANN. 19 

including fragments and inscriptions, interpreted with 
philological severity, but the original text was criticised 
and corrected, as it had been done by no student of art 
before him. He was soon regarded as the first Grecian 
in Rome. His History of Ancient Art was no sooner 
published, than it placed him at the head of that department 
of learning in Europe. He was made superintendent of 
all the antiquities in and about Eome, and, afterwards, 
president of the society of Antiquarians. The most 
interesting fact to us is, that, through Winckelmann, 
classical literature was associated with the elegant arts. 
The cultivation of a Grecian taste now became distinctly 
an object of the student's ambition ; and, by the confluence 
of the two new streams of learning, which flowed fresh from 
the schools of Heyne and Winckelmann, was produced 
that style of scholarship which is, at present, the chief 
characteristic of German philology, and which is most 
perfectly represented, in all its parts and due proportions, 
in the lamented Charles Otfried Muller, of Gottingen, a 
scholar, whose early death has deprived classical learning 
of one of its chief ornaments. 

Before proceeding to sketch the history of this modern 
school of philology, it will be necessary to survey the 
state of classical learning in Europe, as it was in the year 
1767, just before the assassination of Winckelmann, when 
Heyne was thirty-eight years of age. 

A bright day had long before dawned on Italy. Bembo 
and Manutius had successfully imitated the Ciceronian 
Latinity. A youthful enthusiasm had seized upon the 
choice spirits of the nation. The sighing of Petrarch 
after the Homeric songs, had found not only a response, 
but had attained the object of its longing, in the Greek 
school of the court of the Medici. No one is ignorant of 
the immense benefit which resulted to Europe from the 
classic spirit which was awakened, at an early period, in 



20 CLASSICAL STUDIES. 

Italy. But if we estimate it according to the standard of 
the present, we shall see, that, if it had the freshness of 
youth, it had its weakness too. At a later period, Italian 
scholarship declined, and, in Winckelmann's time, it was 
comparatively weak and superficial. 

France had taken up classical learning with more 
vigor. Never did that nation manifest more intellectual 
power than through her early Grecian scholars. The 
achievements of Henry Stephens, of Scaliger, Casaubon, 
and of Salmasius, will bear honorable comparison with 
those of her greatest mathematicians. But her golden 
age of classical learning terminated with the banishment 
of the Huguenots. 

England and Holland had put a strong hand to the 
same great work, but each in a different way, and with 
widely different results. The former, by establishing a 
national system of classical education, has impressed upon 
the literary and historical character of the people the marks 
of Greek and Roman greatness. The latter collected, 
with great industry, her folios, to swell the libraries of the 
learned, who formed a separate caste, having but little to 
do with their fellow-citizens, or with the native language 
and literature. England, in the days of Stanley, pursued 
the favorite method of polyhistory, as it was termed, 
which was introduced by the French, and carried to an 
extreme by the Dutch. At a later period, it separated 
history and geography from philology and criticism ; and, 
under Bentley, Taylor, Markland, Tyrwhitt and others, 
English philology rose to such an eminence, as to become 
the admiration of the learned of all countries. Through 
Porson and his followers, it became so exquisite, and so 
limited to the mere language and metre of the Greek 
tragedians, to the neglect of the orators, historians, and 
philosophers, as to lose its strong hold on the general 
character of the nation. 



HEYNE WINCKELMANN. 21 

Meanwhile, the Dutch critics prosecuted their method 
of accumulating facts and parallel passages, with as little 
concern for their native tongue as for the Chinese. No 
one discoursed in purer Latin than Ruhnken; but he 
nearly forgot his native German, and despised the Dutch, 
as did all the scholars of Holland at that time. Hermann 
says of him, that, in conversation, he spoke no language, 
but dealt out a medley of Dutch, Latin, French and 
English. Roman literature and Latin poetry were most 
cultivated in Holland. A distinguished Grecian school had, 
indeed, sprung up under the auspices of Hemsterhuys, 
and was now in its highest glory, under Ruhnken. 

We are now prepared to assign to Heyne his true 
position. If we go back to the period of 1767, we find, 
in all the south of Europe, none who could compete with 
him, except Winckelmann, who was now at Rome ; and 
he, by nature an artist, and a critic by study, excelled in 
a congenial, but different, department of learning. They 
were friends and correspondents ; and the influence of the 
latter, upon the studies of the former, was of the happiest 
kind. In the west, was his friend and admirer, Ruhnken, 
in Leyden, six years older than himself. Hemsterhuys 
had been dead one year. Wyttenbach was but twenty-one 
years of age, and was still at Marburg. He was yet to study 
at Gottingen, under Heyne, before removing to Holland. 
In England, was the aged Markland, modest, refined, 
and hypochondriacal; and the physician, Musgrave; 
but the young Tyrwhitt was the only brilliant star in the 
English constellation of critics at that time. Parr was of 
the same age with Wyttenbach, and Porson was but a 
boy, eight years old. Of all these, Ruhnken alone could 
dispute the palm with Heyne. In his own country, 
the latter was then without a rival. He differed from 
Winckelmann, by surveying all the literary remains of 
the ancients, from poetry, instead of art, as its centre ; from 



22 



CLASSICAL STUDIES. 



the French and Dutch critics, not so much hy extent 
of erudition, as hy refinement of taste. He introduced 
order and system, doing, for what the Germans term the 
science of antiquity, the same that Bacon did for natural 
science. He was a less exquisite verbal critic than 
Ruhnken, but his range of study was more comprehensive 
and systematic. 

We dwell the longer on Heyne's personal history, as it 
furnishes the thread of the principal events with which 
we are concerned. He was a man of public spirit and 
high aims. It was a matter of sacred duty with him, to 
contribute to the advancement of classical learning, as a 
means of human improvement. Integrity, simplicity, and 
dignity, united with an almost unparalleled earnestness 
and laboriousness, fitted him admirably for his public 
station. Both natural disposition and experience made 
him cautious and reserved in his intercourse with 
strangers, especially with young men. The number and 
pressure of his public duties often caused him to appear less 
affable than he really was. Hence the jealousy of some 
students, afterwards conspicuous for their literary disputes, 
who imagined they were not sufficiently noticed by him. 
His preparations for the ordinary university exercises 
were of the most comprehensive character. With his 
ardent mind, and literary enthusiasm, a short time for 
special preparation on any given subject was sufficient, 
not only to give him the command of all his resources, 
but to awaken a deep interest in the exercise. Thus 
prepared, he was accustomed to enter his lecture-room, 
where the richness of his learning and the fire of his 
spirit made ample amends for his plain, extemporaneous 
language, and his free, and, sometimes, desultory manner. 

Here the most singular and extraordinary character, 
in the annals of German philology, presents himself to 
our notice. About ten years later, an original, coarse 



HEYNE WOLF. 23 

self-confident youth, seventeen years of age, came to 
Heyne, proposing to study nothing but philology. Heyne 
knew the usages of the schools to be such, that few men 
would be supported as mere philologists. He therefore 
discouraged the young man, saying that it was customary 
for every student to choose one of the learned professions, 
and study philology in connection with that ; and added, 
that there were but four or five professorships in all 
Germany, where a professor of classical philology would 
be supported. The determined youth replied, very 
characteristically, "I intend to have one of them." This 
young man was Wolf, subsequently the author of the 
celebrated Prolegomena to Homer. The interview was 
not very gratifying to either party. Wolf expected to be 
received with open arms, and applauded for his courage 
and zeal. Heyne desired to see more modesty and 
civility. The result was, that, while the greatest classical 
scholar in Germany was lecturing, year after year, with 
unbounded applause, on Homer, the young man, who was 
destined to become the greatest Homeric critic of his age, 
was prosecuting his studies in the very same place, and 
yet would not attend those lectures — the only lectures, it 
would be supposed, in which he would take any special 
interest. That bold spirit was only nerved to greater 
daring by the repulse which he met with. He resolved, on 
the spot, to become the rival, rather than the disciple. In 
the case of another, this would have been a great mistake ; 
but in the case of Wolf, it was not so. He had a spirit 
which nothing could discourage, and an intellectual 
energy which loved to grapple with difficulties. His 
course was his own, and the results were his own. Had 
he been disciplined by Heyne, he might have been less 
paradoxical as a critic, and less rough and self-willed as a 
man ; but the world might never have been blessed with 
the Homeric heresy. 



24 CLASSICAL STUDIES. 

Still, Wolf did, at first, attend some of the lectures of 
Heyne ; and an interchange of civilities continued between 
them, until after the publication of the Prolegomena, about 
twenty years from this time, and twelve after he had 
actually obtained, in Halle, one of those professorships, 
which he told Heyne, in his first interview with him, he 
intended to have. They corresponded occasionally, and 
complimented each other in those convenient superlatives 
which the Latin language, particularly the modern, so well 
supplies. During this long interval, Wolf had, by his 
own private studies, raised himself so high as to become 
the acknowledged head of ancient, and especially of 
Homeric literature. In 1797, when Heyne had reviewed 
Wolf's great work, in a manner that was not very 
complimentary, the latter at once broke off his private 
correspondence, and publicly addressed to the former the 
famous letters on the new theory of the Iliad. Heyne 
himself took but little part in the controversy; but the 
rivalry of the two schools of learning, and the zeal of the 
friends and disciples of the two leaders, carried the 
excitement to the highest pitch. 

We may now extend our view, and advance to the 
present generation of critics. In Leipsic, classical studies 
were flourishing, in an unusual degree, under Eeiz, of 
whose exquisite scholarship we need mention no other 
proof, than that Hermann was trained under him. Indeed, 
the present Leipsic school of Greek philology was founded 
by Reiz, and carried to its highest eminence by Hermann. 
In Jena, Professor Schiitz, editor of the most celebrated 
critical journal of that age, the Universal Literary Gazette, 
held a distinguished place, as a classical teacher. His 
editions of iEschylus, Aristophanes, and Cicero, gave him 
a high reputation, and extensive influence as a critic. Of 
the numerous young men reared to eminence by him, 
Jacobs and Creuzer are best known. The former, though 



SCHOOLS OF GERMAN PHILOLOGY. 25 

placed in the very first rank of critics, by his Greek 
Anthology, and other works, and though invited by the 
university of Gottingen to become Heyne's successor, has, 
in his modesty and love of quiet, always chosen to 
remain in Gotha, either as teacher in the gymnasium, 
or as librarian to the duke, except the short interval in 
which he was unfortunately seduced to Munich. Creuzer 
was early an object of attention among scholars, and 
had scarce made a beginning as academical teacher at 
Marburg, when he was called to Heidelberg. Through 
Wyttenbach's influence, he was made professor of philology 
in Leyden ; but, on account of the unfavorable effects of 
the climate in Holland, he soon returned to Heidelberg, 
where, from that time to the present, he has distinguished 
himself by his extensive investigations pertaining to 
antiquity. This is not the place to enter into the merits 
of the mythological controversy, originating with Voss 
and Heyne, and prosecuted by Creuzer, Hermann, Lobeck, 
and Muller. He, who would rightly estimate Creuzer as 
a scholar and an antiquarian, must follow him through 
all his mythological researches, in which are to be found 
his chief excellences and his chief defects. But we return 
to the earlier days of Schiitz and of his associates. All 
the teachers at Leipsic and Jena, and their disciples, 
except Jacobs, while they duly valued the extraordinary 
merits of Heyne, gave the preference to Wolf, as the finer 
and more thorough critic. 

If the founder of a particular school of criticism is to be 
estimated by the character of his disciples, few will come 
off with more honor than Wolf. Heyne's influence was 
felt throughout all Germany, and all Europe. He 
interested different classes of minds in ancient learning. 
Wolf's influence, on the contrary, was greatest upon the 
few who were thoroughly disciplined under his care. The 
first distinguished scholar, formed under Wolf, was 
3 



26 CLASSICAL STUDIES. 

Heindorf, so justly celebrated for his edition of Plato. 
The second, was the ablest and most prolific editor of the 
age, Immanuel Bekker, of Berlin. The third, was that 
prodigy of Greek and antiquarian learning, Augustus 
Bockh. These young men were, indeed, finally alienated, 
to some extent, from their teacher, in consequence of his 
growing arrogance ; but they were always true to his 
principles of criticism. They were certainly excusable 
for being restive under the galling yoke which was 
unceremoniously put upon them, after they were full- 
grown, by this ill-natured and freakish veteran of learning. 
The truth is, the whole period, from 1807, when he was 
called to Berlin, and employed in laying the foundations 
of the university, up to his death in 1824, was one which 
increased neither his literary reputation, nor the number 
of his friends. The rupture which broke out between 
him and Buttmann, Schleiermacher, Niebuhr, Bockh, J. 
G. Schneider, and Savigny, has no importance, except to 
illustrate the literary feuds of those times. 

Heindorf, then in Berlin, as were most of the early 
disciples of Wolf, was the very opposite of his teacher. 
He was uncommonly mild and amiable. His health was 
very feeble, and he was subject to melancholy. One 
cannot read his history without feelings of sadness. All 
our sympathies are awakened in favor of a worthy and 
modest young man, eager for improvement, and yet 
depressed in spirit ; first encouraged and highly honored 
by his teacher, and then an object of jealousy; struggling 
with ill health, and working enthusiastically upon his 
Plato, partly as an antidote to despondency; seeking to 
merit an important station, and rapidly rising in fame ; 
and then thrown upon a bed of illness, at the idea of his 
responsibilities, when appointed professor at Breslau, and 
finally dying a few years after. 



SCHOOLS OF GERMAN PHILOLOGY. 27 

Immanuel Bekker, now fifty-eight years of age, betrays 
in his iron features the determined and unyielding 
perseverance of his character. No living critic has such a 
knowledge of Greek manuscripts. The libraries of Paris 
and Rome have been his laboratories. He was, at first, 
educated under Spalding and Heindorf, in a gymnasium 
of Berlin, his native city; then he went to Halle, and 
studied under Wolf, who pronounced him the best qualified, 
of all his disciples, to carry out his views of criticism. 
Since then, he has been professor in the university of 
Berlin, though he has spent much time abroad, in various 
foreign libraries. The extent of his critical labors is truly 
astonishing. The most searching investigation of the 
texts and manuscripts of such voluminous authors as 
Plato, and Aristophanes, aad Aristotle, is only a small 
part of his labors. 

Augustus Bdckh, also fifty-eight years of age, is a 
native of Carlsruhe. He studied under Wolf in Halle, 
and was then, for a time, in Berlin. At the age of 
twenty-two, he was made professor in Heidelberg, and 
since 1811, he has been professor in Berlin. At the 
present time, his reputation is higher than that of 
any classical scholar in Germany. In mere language, 
Hermann is, undoubtedly, his superior; in the single 
department of manuscript learning, called, in Germany, 
diplomatic criticism, Bekker takes precedence. In the 
archaology of art, Miiller excelled him, as do many others. 
But in a knowledge of what the Greeks and Romans 
were practically — in the power of reproducing Grecian 
and Roman life, in all its thousand forms — no one can 
pretend to be his equal. No one else could have written 
the Public Economy of the Athenians, published when he 
was but thirty-two years of age. In this kind of research, 
Charles Otfried Miiller, his own disciple, came nearest to 
him. It is the union of the better portions of the methods 



28 CLASSICAL STUDIES. 

of Wolf and of Niebuhr, that constitutes the excellence 
of Bockh and his followers. Bernhardy, Gerhard, 
and Meyer are now among his most distinguished 
disciples ; and it is very evident, that the Berlin method 
of philology is gaining upon that of Leipsic, and is more 
closely united with all the intellectual movements of the 
present day. In the lecture-room of Bockh, when he is 
upon some important subject, it is no uncommon thing to 
meet with such men as von Humboldt and others, who 
are, themselves, among the profoundest scholars of the 
age. The ascendency of this school may be owing, in 
part, to the spirit of the times, which is more intent upon 
great discoveries in the world of facts, than upon the 
niceties of language. The best Latin writers of the 
present day, and the best expositors of words and phrases, 
are trained under Hermann, to whom we now turn our 
attention. 

If one were to go into the lecture-room of the professor 
of Poetry and Eloquence at Leipsic, a few moments before 
the hour, he would see a crowd of the maturest scholars of 
the university, and of philologists who had been educated 
elsewhere, finding their seats, and preparing their papers, 
for taking notes. The hum of numerous whispering 
voices fills the room. An aged, but spirited man, of 
moderate stature, with fire in his eye, and fury in every 
movement, darts in at the door. The well-known signal, 
given by those nearest him, instantly silences a hundred 
tongues. By this time, you hear his clinking spurs, and, 
as he mounts the stairs to the desk, your eye falls upon 
his blue coat, with metal buttons and badge of knighthood, 
his deer-skin breeches, and long riding boots. His whip 
and gloves, and hat and chair are all flying to their places, 
and a stream of extemporaneous Latin is already pouring 
forth. Before you are aware of it, the ship is under full 
sail. The whole energy of the lecturer's mind is directed 



SCHOOLS OF GERMAN PHILOLOGY. 2d 

to his object ; the point of difficulty in the Greek text, or 
in the interpretation, is placed directly before you in all its 
bearings ; the principles involved, are clearly stated, and 
discussed in animated and floAving Latin ; the difference 
between his views and those of Bockh, Miiller, or Dissen, 
are alluded to freely but kindly, occasionally with keen 
satire, but more frequently with the playfulness of harmless 
wit ; and thus the hour is passed, and the most difficult 
and abstruse subjects luminously exhibited and disposed 
of, before the hearer stops to take a long breath. When 
the lecture is over, one's mind is so exhilarated, and so 
possessed of the spirit of the Greek author, as to be ready 
to plunge directly into a protracted perusal of the text; 
but, after a moment, a feeling of exhaustion suggests the 
query, whether it would not be better to go to the dinner- 
table. 

Such is Godfrey Hermann, in his lecture-room. Visit 
him in his museum, as he calls his study in the city, and 
he will entertain you with free and lively conversation ; 
and if you have any reasonable claim upon his attention, 
he will show you a chair, and draw you into protracted 
conversation, as if you were an old friend. In his family, 
that resides a little out of the city, he appears as a 
plain, but lively old man. Simplicity and sterling sense 
characterize his domestic circle. 

Hermann has no airs of professional dignity. He seems 
to act with reference to himself, simply as man, not as the 
titled individual whom kings love to honor; and, in 
this respect, he is the very opposite of Schlegel, of Bonn. 
Once, he promised the writer some of his occasional 
works, but would not set a time when they might be 
called for. A few days after, he was seen walking from 
one side of the city to the other, to the writer's lodgings, 
with the pamphlets under his arm. The Germans 
generally pour out their curses liberally upon Napoleon, 
3* 



30 



CLASSICAL STUDIES. 



as the enslaver of their nation ; but Hermann, in the true 
spirit of an old Greek, said, it was a good thing - , once in a 
while, to have the slumbering spirit of a whole continent 
stirred up by such a man as Napoleon. In regard to the 
proverbially intricate statutes of the Leipsic university, he 
once observed, that, for his part, he followed his own 
sense of propriety, in the affairs of the university; for no 
man could safely calculate on a life long enough to trace 
the laws through all their alterations and amendments, so 
as to be able to follow them. 

Hermann has been a spirited controversialist, and 
always victorious, till Bockh and Miiller entered the lists. 
Neither of these men could be completely vanquished by 
any opponent. Probably no German scholar understands 
the Greek language, its grammar, lexicography, and 
general usage, and Greek metre, better than Hermann, 
or has read the Greek authors more than he. Certainly, 
no one excels Bockh in his way. I know not how to 
characterize the lamented Muller's greatness. Perhaps 
it may be represented as consisting in comprehensive and 
magnificent views of antiquity as a whole, a true survey 
of it in all its aspects, a harmonious construction of the 
materials of Winckelmann, Hermann, and Bockh, into 
one grand and beautiful system. 

Hermann and Bockh are to be regarded as the heads of 
the two great schools of philology that divide Germany : 
the former, making language the end, and all historical 
and antiquarian research subservient to that end; the 
latter, making a complete knowledge of antiquity the end, 
and language only the means : the one aiming chiefly at 
intellectual discipline, the other at useful knowledge. 
Among the more distinguished disciples of Hermann, 
may be mentioned the names of Lobeck, Thiersch, 
Passow, Host, Poppo, Eichstadt, Hand, Fritzsche, and 
Klotz. 



SCHOOLS OF GERMAN PHILOLOGY. 31 

The Society of Philologists, formed in Germany a few- 
years ago, has, thus far, been characterized by so much 
humanity, that it deserves to be noticed, before we close 
this sketch. It originated thus. In 1837, the university 
of Gottingen held its centennial celebration. The festival 
of a university, which could look back upon so proud a 
century as that which marked the history of this celebrated 
seat of learning, naturally attracted an unusual assemblage 
of scholars. Distinguished philologists, of all parties, met 
together, forgetting their animosities, and embracing each 
other as fellow-laborers in the same great enterprise, 
though contemplating it from different points of view. 

So touching was the scene, and so delightful the 
magnanimous feelings with which those who participated 
in it, greeted each other, that Thiersch, the pillar of Greek 
learning in Bavaria, a man of the noblest enthusiasm, as 
well as of great eloquence, gave utterance to his struggling 
emotions, and ventured, in his remarks, to propose the 
formation of a society which should secure the annual 
recurrence of such occasions. A special meeting was 
called to consider the subject, at which Humboldt 
presided. The proposal was received with acclamation, 
and the first meeting was appointed to be held in 
Nuremberg, in 1838, at which Thiersch was to preside. 
In 1839, the society met at Manheim. 

Frederick Jacobs, whose age and partial deafness 
prevented him from attending the first meeting, where 
his name had been mentioned with particular marks of 
respect, had also decided not to attend the second. But 
Rost, of Gotha, resorted to a stratagem, which was 
successful in procuring the attendance of Jacobs. At the 
age of seventy-five, he undertook his four days' journey, 
travelling forty miles a day, and calling, as he went, on his 
literary friends at Frankfort, Darmstadt, and Heidelberg. 
When this amiable old man and popular writer — the 



32 CLASSICAL STUDIES. 

favorite of all parties — arrived, he could not decline 
addressing the assembled classical teachers of his country, 
mostly of the younger generation. He spoke in an 
affecting strain of eloquence, which was received with 
unusual applause. After the meeting, the principal 
members of the society appointed Hermann, of Marburg, 
to draw up a special communication in Latin, addressed 
to Jacobs, testifying, in the warmest terms, their respect 
for him, as one of the most accomplished of classical 
scholars, and their personal regards for him, as a man and 
as a friend. This circumstance called him out, in another 
public speech, on a subsequent day, so that the occasion 
was a kind of jubilee to that noble representative of the 
past generation. 



II. 
STUDY OF GREEK LITERATURE. 

BY 

BISHOP ESAIAS TEGNER. 



STUDY OF GREEK LITERATURE. 



In closing my lectures on Thucydides, I complete, at 
the same time, the course of public instruction which I 
have pursued, for twelve years, in the university. The 
moment when one quits an old calling, to which his 
feelings are more or less attached, is naturally crowded 
with interest. He thus stands on the threshold of a new 
period in his existence; it is an epoch, a kind of new year, 
which must awaken many emotions in every heart that is 
not utterly dead. Back of us lies the past, with all its 
reminiscences. If some of these occasion regret, still the 
shadows cover them; while those of a delightful kind 
pass before us in unwonted brightness. High on the 
shore they stand, like our kindred, and wave an adieu to 
those sailing away. It is as when we leave our native 
country, not feeling how dear it is till we are separated 
from it; or like bidding farewell to friends and companions, 
with whose faults we have become familiar, and whose 
worth we never value so much as when we part from 
them. And there is the future, and the new relations 
which it brings with it. How dark and doubtful are 
they ! Forests lie in the distance ; who knows what 
dwells among their boughs ? Indeed, familiarity with an 
object works strongly on the human heart ; and every 



36 CLASSICAL STUDIES. 

kind of employment, be it what it may, binds insensibly, 
with a thousand cords, from which no one can easily free 
himself. Is he now convinced, that it is intrinsically 
valuable, and that it is not, or at least should not be, 
without its effect on human improvement ? then must the 
moment, when he is to quit it for ever, be alike solemn 
and touching. 

It were easy to close my lectures with that with which 
many begin theirs, — a eulogy on the subject itself. I 
might say, that not only no academic scholarship, but, in 
general, no higher culture is possible, without a knowledge 
of Greek. In favor of such a position, I might adduce the 
testimonies of eminent men, and add the weight of the 
convictions of centuries. Thus I could exalt the study at 
the expense of all, or at least, of most others. But this 
would be clearly a partial decision. I readily admit, on 
the contrary, that, in the present state of the world, much 
culture, a large amount of true learning, can be secured 
without a knowledge of the classical languages. Why, 
then, is that epithet applied to them ? Not merely 
because of their inward development, but, specially, on 
account of their literature. Such a literature, however, 
several of the living languages possess. The stock of 
ideas, which made up the culture of the ancients, has 
gradually passed over into the general modes of thinking. 
We live on the capital that the early ages amassed. So 
must it be, for nothing in man's existence remains alone. 
Human improvement is a continuous chain. The present 
link ever joins to the one before it, and that again to the 
preceding, up to the creation. One generation bequeaths 
its estate to the next. The history of education is a 
progressive illustration of the great law of man's 
inheritance. 

Such a heritage, however, is strictly nothing more than 
the materials, the rough mass, which one age takes from 



STUDY OF GREEK LITERATURE. 37 

another, and, in its own way, works up and appropriates. 
The form, the outward manifestation, is inseparably 
connected with the present time, and its accidental 
relations. In this way, our age, long ago, employed in 
legislation, in the sciences, and in elegant literature, all 
the essential ideas of the ancients. They are no longer 
new; they are readily accessible to every one, and may be 
found in all languages. We understand, not simply what 
the ancients knew, but, in many respects, infinitely more. 
The materials which they left, are not only collected, but 
in manifold ways enlarged. The knowledge, which was 
with them a child, has gradually grown into a mature and 
perfect form. 

We should certainly be right in maintaining, that 
classical literature is now superfluous, were we to regard 
it simply as materials. But no where have the materials, 
the stores of knowledge, been so closely united with their 
form, no where have they grown so much together, as 
with the Greeks. The idea was always one element 
only in culture. The other element, which was just as 
essential, was the expression, the visible representation of 
it in accordance with the general laws of the beautiful. 
Their oldest philosophical speculations on nature, their 
earliest historical reminiscences, shaped themselves to- 
poetic forms, from the very beginning. Their first 
legislation was metrical. Even their gods gave responses 
only in poetical oracles. The rough, but significant, 
mythical images, which they received from the East, 
were transformed by them into bright ideals of beauty. 
Olympus became a museum, just as the national 
traditions became an epos. In a word, the external 
form, for them, was never a matter of indifference. The 
Greeks were born with love to beautiful forms. That 
which distinguished them, was a natural sense for the 
apt and the fitting; an innate dislike of extravagance in 
4 



38 CLASSICAL STUDIES. 

any shape ; an affection, as just as it was delicate, for true 
proportion — for that which is both the rule and the 
substance of real beauty. In aesthetics, we speak of the 
line of beauty. If it could be found, we might affirm, that 
old Hellas lay within it. This separated the Greek from 
the barbarian. Hence, the Greek taste has been regarded, 
by all cultivated nations, as the standard in various 
respects. Whatever falls short of it, or goes beyond it, is 
weak, extravagant, or confused. It is connected with the 
plastic arts in the highest and most general sense. After 
the lapse of ages, the forms of the Olympic gods yet stand 
there in high and unsurpassed beauty. Man's genius 
for art feels its want of progress only the more, as it 
approaches that eternal pattern. 

In respect, also, to polite literature, poetry, eloquence, 
and historical art, the Greek models have been regarded 
as pre-eminent. This conclusion is just, provided those 
limitations are made, which exist in the nature of the 
subject ; for the fine arts, and poetry, in particular, are 
so universal, so all-comprehending, that they must, of 
necessity, express themselves in ways infinitely various. 
Every age, the rudest even, has its own poetry, as every 
plant has its own flower. I place a high estimate upon the 
poetic art of the Greeks, but I am far from regarding it as 
the only true poetic art, or as, in every respect, the highest. 
There are poetic excellences, of which the Greeks neither 
had, nor could have, any conception. If you love the 
images, not merely of a rich, but of a luxuriant fancy; if 
you are pleased with the most daring flights ; if you would 
see a poetic creation full of wonders, then turn to the 
poetry of the Orient, where all forms appear in purple; 
where each flower glows like the morning ray resting 
on the earth, and the eagle-thought flies to the sun on 
gilded wing. But if, on the contrary, you prefer depth of 
thought, and earnestness of reflection ; if you delight in 



STUDY OF GREEK LITERATURE. 39 

the colossal, yet pale forms, which float about in the mist, 
and whisper of the mysteries of the spirit-world, and of the 
vanity of all things, except honor, then I must point you to 
the hoary North, rich in sagas, where Wala struck the 
key-note in the song of creation, while the moon rose on 
Fjellen, where the brook struck up its one-toned song, and 
the thrush, on the top of the golden birch, sat and sung a 
lament on the brief summer, and on dying nature. Or, 
are your sympathies with that deep feeling, that longing of 
soul, which does not linger on the earth, but evermore looks 
up to the azure tent of the stars, where happiness dwells, 
where the unquiet of the beating heart is still? then you 
must resort to the romantic poetry of the West, especially 
during the middle ages, when the Troubadour sang of an 
unearthly love, and the knight fought with equal zeal for 
the honor of the holy virgin, and of his own fair one. 
But, are you attracted, on the other hand, by wealth of 
ideas, and the truths of reflection ; would you look down 
into the depths of the human bosom ; would you see all 
the fibres of the heart uncovered, as by the stroke of the 
magician's wand? then you must go to the masters of 
modern poetry, to the few who went on their independent 
course, and relied rather on their own age and genius, 
than upon the inspiration of others. 

These things make, unquestionably, fine poetic 
elements. No classic partialities should prevent us 
from acknowledging their worth. But in what heavy, 
indistinct and barbaric forms, must we often seek for 
them, as one searches for diamonds in the barren rocks ! 
"With the Greeks, on the contrary, we find these elements, 
not often perhaps, but, whenever seen, beautifully fitted 
and polished. What Corinna said to Pindar, who, in his 
youth, showed some tendencies to oriental extravagance, 
" That one must sow with the hand, not with a full sack," 
illustrates the national taste of the Greeks, and shows what 



40 CLASSICAL STUDIES. 

was a standing principle in their entire elegant literature. 
It is a poetry which is self-controlled, even in the strongest 
outbursts of feeling, decorous both in joy and grief, and 
like Polyxena in Euripides, who was solicitous, even in 
death, to fall with dignity. There was an imagination, 
which the Greeks symbolized under the image of Pegasus, 
who had reins, as well as wings. When with these 
Perseus flew too near Olympus, he was precipitated by 
the angry gods, though himself a son of the gods. Again, 
there was a poetic judgment, which never forgets itself, 
never sacrifices the whole for a part, never lacks calmness, 
perspicuity and order, even in the stormiest moments 
of inspiration. In respect to form and representation, 
there was an innate aversion to the extravagant, to the 
overladen ; there was a love for simple beauty ; in style 
every thing was chaste and in keeping, never violently 
sweeping along — attracting and soothing, but not terrifying. 
Every thing is as easy and unaffected, as if it had grown 
up without art and attention ; as simple and natural, as 
though it could not be otherwise than what it is. We 
may compare the romantic poetry, in all its species, to the 
oak, which, in strong but irregular forms, bends out of a 
mountain cleft over the dark valley. Greek poetry is 
slender, smooth, erect, like the palm-tree, with its rich 
yet symmetrical crown ; and a nightingale sits among the 
leaves and sings. Greek poetry may be likened to the 
tongue in the mechanical scales ; it shows the true 
equipoise, which is merely another term for perfect beauty, 
while the oriental poetry, or the romantic poetry of the 
West, throws its heavy weight into one of the scales. In 
short, if the question has reference to a mere natural gift 
for poetry, to copiousness of invention, boldness of thought, 
or glow of feeling, then, possibly, the Greeks are inferior 
to several other nations, or, at least, do not excel them. 
But if the question concerns the art, the clearness, the 



STUDY OF GREEK LITERATURE. 41 

truth of the composition, the simple beauty of form, in that 
case the Greeks are, and will remain, the unchangeable 
models. And here I must direct your attention, not 
simply to Homer and Sophocles, but to Plato, Herodotus, 
and Xenophon ; for in the qualities just alluded to, the 
Greek has something loftier and more perfect than has 
elsewhere appeared. 

It is, unquestionably, in this quality, this beauty 
of form, where the highest excellence of Greek poetry 
appears, and which makes the knowledge of the language 
indispensable for all who would perceive that beauty. 
The thoughts and opinions of a Greek author, the 
substance of his writings, may be expressed in a 
translation. But the peculiar character and spirit of the 
style, all those qualities in the mode of exhibition which 
are special, and that often pertain to the words, are, to 
such an extent, of the same cast with the language itself, 
that it is impossible to detach them from it, and present 
them alone. Any translation, therefore, be it what it may, 
even the most exact, can furnish of all this nothing but 
a remote and imperfect idea. Particularly is this true 
of the poets, in whom, oftentimes, a whole series of 
associations is linked to a single word that has no perfect 
equivalent in any other language. The ancient, dead 
languages possess, not merely a grammatical structure 
essentially unlike that of living languages, but a peculiar 
system of poetic symbols, which, often, with one expression, 
open an entire gallery of pictures, that must be, almost 
invariably, lost in a translation. The resemblance between 
such a translation and the original is, for the most part, 
like that between a topographical chart and a landscape 
painting. The last reveals, in striking forms, the rivers, 
woods and mountains ; the former substitutes an indistinct, 
lifeless line. We obtain an obscure hint, instead of a 
living intuition. Accordingly, if we would understand the 
4# 



42 CLASSICAL STUDIES. 

ancients, we must first understand their language. It is, 
indeed an inconvenience, that the road to classic beauty- 
passes, at its beginning, through the grammar and lexicon; 
but no other path can be found, and he, who would reach 
the end of his course, must himself master the difficulties 
of the journey. 

We are now prepared to remove the common objections 
against Greek literature, not with positive assertions, or 
by an appeal to ancient usage, but on substantial grounds. 
Its characteristic traits, as we have seen, cannot be fully 
discovered without an acquaintance with the language. 
The value of such an insight no one can call in question. 
It is important, when viewed historically; for the Greeks 
hold so high a place in the history of human improvement, 
their influence on the present culture of Europe is so 
obvious, all purer taste is so manifestly of Greek origin, 
that an intimate acquaintance with the authors of our 
civilization can be a matter of absolute indifference to no 
■one who would mark the progress of man, or who has 
any sense for the unfolding of his noblest powers. 

This knowledge is, also, valuable to the student of 
polite literature. After the lapse of centuries, he may 
yet study the old masters, who need not fear any rivalry 
in that which constitutes their peculiar greatness. To 
him, likewise, who does not aspire to become a poet, an 
orator, or an historian, but who is pleased with whatever 
is beautiful and elevated, either in sentiment or the 
classical expression of it, this knowledge will not be 
unimportant. It has an especial bearing, however, on 
the "Academies," that should not wear their Greek 
names in vain. If they do not, as universities, embrace 
the whole circle of knowledge, still they should include 
the essential parts of it. Just so far as classical literature 
has been made unnecessary in our popular and imperfect 
education, being thus withdrawn from the sphere of its 



STUDY OF GREEK LITERATURE. 43 

general cultivation, must it find a resting-place in the 
seats of learning. It is like the Nile, which, having 
made the adjacent fields fruitful, flows back to its original 
channel. But there it should run untroubled, a royal 
stream, whose veins are never dry, and whose fountains 
are on the highest eminences. 



III. 



STUDY OF CLASSICAL ANTIQUITY, 

AN INAUGURAL DISCOURSE. 

BY 

FREDERIC JACOBS. 



STUDY OF CLASSICAL ANTIQUITY. 



I now appear before you, to commence the honorable 
course to which I have been invited by our gracious 
sovereign, and his enlightened government. I am to be 
connected with an institution, which, under the charge of 
estimable teachers, in the centre of the kingdom, and at 
the foot of the throne, has drawn together a company of 
youth, the hope of the country, eager for knowledge, and 
susceptible to every good influence. I am thus cheered 
by the happiest anticipations, and encircled with hopes 
which might encourage the most dejected heart. If the 
sight of inanimate nature, in its blossoming freshness, can 
enliven and soothe the mind that is but little cultivated, 
how much more must the spectacle of man's activity 
gladden us, where the deepest impulses of nature are 
awakened, where the fairest flowers of the soul are 
unfolding, and where generous and buoyant spirits are 
cultivating the field of human improvement. And how 
can the heart be exalted with fresher hopes, than when 
encircled by a company of youth, who, from their own 
honorable feelings, devote themselves to learning, seek 
their appropriate culture in knowledge, and collect 
treasures which are fitted to promote the prosperity of 
their native land. Here, at the altar of science and of 



4« CLASSICAL STUDIES. 

literature, they become inspired with the sentiment of a 
generous patriotism ; with the power to defend truth and 
right ; with the inclination to widen the realm of beauty 
among their fellow-men, and, in particular, among their 
countrymen, by noble sentiment, by worthy actions, and 
intellectual labors. They are thus preparing to benefit 
their native land, as teachers of religion, defenders of law, 
guides and examples to the young; or, by the general 
influence which they may exert, honoring the sciences, 
and thereby, themselves, and advancing, as far as possible, 
the glory of an ancient and respected nation. 

In the happy anticipation of being connected with 
youth, who are animated by such sentiments, I approach 
you with the same confidence and friendly feelings, that I 
desire to awaken in you. It is in the mutual devotion 
of our powers to the noblest objects, that those virtuous 
and sacred friendships bloom, which beautify the young 
more than any other gift of Providence, and which 
often illumine even a troubled life, like the unfading 
morning light. It is this, which fills the pure heart 
with inextinguishable enthusiasm, and which is alone 
adequate, oftentimes, to scatter the darkness that rests on 
the intricate path of life. Where can a happier position 
be pointed out, not merely for youth in its bloom, but for 
the man who wishes to enjoy life, than in the midst of 
those who confide in their teacher with open hearts, and, 
free from the cares of a weary life, rise most easily to the 
heights of ideal excellence ? Far, then, from accusing 
fortune, that she has confined him to a harsh and joyless 
career, he will envy the servants of the State none of their 
privileges. He would not exchange his own fresh and 
happy circle for those who surround kings and nobles. 
Is not a pure and ingenuous heart a fairer sight than any 
splendor of wealth ? Is there not a fulness of joyful 
hopes in every healthful germ which has swollen up 






STUDY OF CLASSICAL ANTIQUITY. 49 

under his care ? Can mere earthly power boast a richer 
harvest of joys than the paternal teacher, when he sees 
the success of his efforts ? Every generous spirit is akin 
to him. His pupils are his friends. That, which life, in 
its perplexities, rarely exhibits, is seen in a company of 
open-hearted youth at school; emulation, without envy; 
freedom, with obedience to law; love, unalloyed by 
jealousy; in short, knowledge and wisdom, entwined by 
the charms of affection, buoyant hope, and beauty. 

Every school, that does not degenerate into a workhouse, 
where, through fear of punishment, rather than by hope of 
reward, a sad day's task is forced from the sighing slaves, 
must strive to reach such an ideal, though it cannot, 
through earthly imperfection, fully attain it. In order to 
accomplish what is possible, every one thus engaged, be 
he teacher or scholar, must place before him the ultimate 
end of his exertions. 

It seems to me, therefore, pertinent to the present 
occasion, to submit a statement of the opinions which I 
entertain, in respect to the object of a learned school ; 
partly, that I may direct the attention of my future pupils 
to what I regard, with my deepest convictions, as the 
truth ; partly, that I may vindicate the course which 
I propose to pursue. The subject has an universal 
importance ; it is recognized by all men of learning. 
With you it is connected by the closest relations. 

Every high school should be an institute for the 
education of its pupils, and, by the comprehensive nature 
of its object, should be distinct from other scientific and 
practical seminaries. Were it designed merely to prepare 
youth for active employments, or to enable them to amass 
the requisite knowledge, and could the business of men 
be brought back to the processes of a machine, then, 
unquestionably, all schools, from the era of the revival of 
learning, down, have been conducted in a most unwise 
5 



50 CLASSICAL STUDIES. 

manner. If man is destined, like the beast, to consume 
the fruits of the field, and to exhaust his strength by a 
certain prescribed course of duty, with no ability to go 
beyond it, then, — as iEschylus says of the human frame, 
" before it received the spark of the divine fire, it had eyes 
without seeing, ears without hearing," — must man wander 
along the close and dreary road of life, only to mingle 
again with his original dust. If such be the destiny of 
the lord of the creation, then every thing which his eye 
can discover in the distance, or that awakens in him a 
longing to leap over the narrow bounds of his poor 
existence ; every beam of light, every spark of irrepressible 
aspiration in his heart, is not a blessing, but a curse, and 
the benefactors of mankind are its despotic tyrants. They 
allot to every class of men, yea, to each individual, the 
talents and capacities .which are needful to keep the 
machine of State in motion, and satisfy their own desires. 
In such a case, nothing could be more judicious, than 
for the mother to tear away the child from her bosom, 
before he can, himself, choose — assign him his destiny 
arbitrarily, and, with the fixedness of a caste, root out 
every aspiring feeling in him, and direct every step on 
the narrow path to the immovable goal. A State, 
which should undertake thus to educate its citizens, would 
show, in no long period, a people possessing a slavish 
spirit, in its most perfect form, by which even the capacity 
for freedom would be lost. Such a course would be 
consistent. Upon those, who, in this spirit, demand that 
a premature regard should be had, in the education of the 
young, to the business of active life, would rest the 
reproach of bringing back, as far as they could, a state of 
society, at which mankind trembles, and the bare idea of 
which every German heart rejects with abhorrence. 

While, then, the education of the young must be freed 
from these narrow and unworthy barriers, it must have 



STUDY OF CLASSICAL ANTIQUITY. 51 

a higher and more befitting aim, which can be nothing 
less than humanity itself, in its beauty and worth. 
Such should be the great object, in the education of the 
young. 

Wonderfully is man placed on the confines of two 
worlds. By his animal nature, he belongs to the outward. 
He wanders with the beasts, weaker than most of them, 
helpless, and without a guiding instinct. On the other 
hand, that in him which thinks, which commands him, 
when it pleases, to scorn every earthly good, even to 
esteem life itself as worthless, conducts him away from 
the bounds of the world of sense, and shows him a place 
in the world of spirits as his peculiar home. These two 
natures, — one full of unrestrained appetites, every moment 
strongly exciting it, the other armed with its unbending 
dignity, — seem to be separated in an irreconcilable 
manner. From the period of their union, there appears 
to have been a sentence of dissension pronounced upon 
them, as wretched as it is implacable. Such is the natural 
condition of those who are destitute of a true culture. 
This unceasing internal conflict occasions complaints of 
the arrangements of the Deity, who has placed over the 
strong passions, which he implanted within them, a stern 
mistress, that forbids their gratification. Despairing of 
being able to put an end to this internal warfare, they 
either resign themselves to the domination of their 
desires, or surrender their rights to a despotic reason 
which tramples down and extirpates every impulse of 
the animal nature. 

The feeling of despair, to which I have alluded, is still 
observed, too often in the same individual, in spite of 
a stern opposition, and it is well known, that efforts 
have been made even to demonstrate the wisdom of it. 
The Cyrenaic morals, on the one hand, and Stoicism on 
the other, are nothing else than a proud and partial 



52 CLASSICAL STUDIES. 

development, elevated into the rank of a system. But 
such a course can never be justified by the decisions of 
true wisdom. It perpetuates, instead of terminating, this 
inward strife. That Providence, which caused a Avorld 
to spring out of chaos, and that ever unites the most 
various elements, has, in man, also, designed such a union. 
The two opposite natures in him, it has not forcibly 
chained together, but has joined them in a marriage 
covenant. When they approach each other, through the 
medium of the human will, there originates that perfect 
and ravishing harmony, of which every other union of 
matter and mind appears to be only a repetition and an 
image. The impulses of the earthly nature are illumined 
and made pure by the rays of the spiritual. Without 
impairing its dignity, the spiritual nature clothes itself 
with the raiment of the outward form, and like one 
of the graces, does not haughtily terrify, but gladdens 
with its mild earnestness. In such a union, human 
nature is exalted. The highest triumph of man is the 
coincidence of the inclinations and impulses with the 
lawful demands of reason. The limit of his exertions is 
that education of himself by which the war of conflicting 
elements shall cease. 

The open, light and attractive form in which man's 
nature, in its highly cultivated state, appears, induces, too 
often, the erroneous opinion, that it can be very readily 
attained, just as a finished work of art seems, to the 
unskilled, to have been wrought without care by the 
magical stroke of its author's will, because all traces of 
the labor bestowed upon it are obliterated. But since 
there is no work of art, slight as its claims may be, in 
which there has not been the necessity of overcoming the 
intractableness of the resisting materials, so the generous 
culture of man's faculties, like a work of art, involves a 
struggle the harder and the more strenuous in proportion 



STUDY OF CLASSICAL ANTIQUITY. 53 

to the unyielding force with which the material resists 
the efforts of the moulding spirit, and the violence with 
which it strives to take the law into its own hands. 
Long and persevering, then, must be the struggle. Not 
on a " primrose path of dalliance " can the lofty goal be 
reached. But the crown which it seeks, the reconciliation 
of man with himself, the calm yet high elevation above 
the shallows of earth, is the reward which awaits the 
unwearied combatant. 

"It is a grand idea, 
Worth the struggle of the noblest." 

In the gymnasia of the ancients, the bodies of the free- 
born youth were exercised, not only that they might be 
taught to yield, in all things, to the control of the will, but 
that they might be free and graceful in form and motion. 
In like manner, would our schools accomplish their great 
object, they must so train the youthful mind, as to raise 
it to that freedom, without which there is no dignity or 
happiness. While they hold up before it, unceasingly, 
without regard to the question of practical utility, the 
highest ideal, which has been formed by the greatest men 
of all ages, such a love for it will be awakened, that it will 
scorn every thing mean and degrading, and will endeavor 
to unfold in itself all the graces of humanity. By these 
wisely directed efforts, every power of the soul is 
awakened and invigorated. 

The system of school instruction, then, which was 
adopted at the restoration of learning, was perfectly just. 
The authors of it felt assured, that it is to the Greeks first,. 
and then to the emulous Bomans, we owe, not only the 
masterly works which were produced in the various 
departments of science, but, also, the lives and actions 
which honorably distinguished the best periods of ancient 
history. And have not all subsequent ages, rapidly as 
5* 



54 CLASSICAL STUDIES. 

they have advanced toward perfection, evermore confirmed 
this judgment anew? Has not literature, in its most 
flourishing periods, kindled its torch at the altars of 
antiquity? Does not every nation, when it fancies, in the 
intoxication of self-love, that it can dispense with its great 
leaders, sink clown into mediocrity, or into an inflated 
redundancy of words ? 

To unfold the inward causes of this phenomenon, is not 
pertinent to this place. It is enough to refer to the fact ; 
to the undisputed excellence of the ancient classical 
world ; to the ripe and all-pervading culture of their great 
men in every art; to the multitude of their works in every 
department, in which the exact correspondence of the 
material to the form delights us : it is enough to refer to 
the inexhaustible affluence of these treasures, to justify 
the course of our ancestors, in considering the writers 
of classical antiquity as the best sources from which 
intellectual culture for the young could be drawn. They 
found in their times, possibly, as we do in ours, more than 
one author, who was admired by his contemporaries, and 
who quickened the mind, both by the copiousness of his 
materials, and by the skilful arrangement of them. But 
they would not entrust the care of the young to those, 
whose uncertain and perishable fame resembles the 
countless leaves of spring, that shoot up and then wither 
away. Rather would they commit them to the immortals, 
who, like Hercules, on the heights of (Eta, have stood 
the fiery test of time. They would set before them the 
eternal models of beauty, the godlike forms of knowledge 
and freedom, that touch alike the earth and the heavens, 
and that, amid the throng of imitators, always seem to 
rise higher. With these heroic forms they held friendly 
communion in youth ; in their society they strengthened 
manhood; and sought for advancing age its elevation 
and solace. A great part of their life was spent 



STUDY OF CLASSICAL ANTIQUITY. 55 

in rendering themselves worthy of such confidential 
intimacy. For, not to the indolent and the feeble, do these 
mighty spirits condescend. To be received into the 
number of the gods, and to be made worthy of their 
companionship, the child of Jove passed through many 
struggles, which he voluntarily assumed, in addition to 
the multitude imposed upon him. Not less should he be 
able, who enters the august circle of those old worthies, 
to relish their songs, and understand their wise discourse. 
The reward is worth any exertion. Indeed, the very 
effort brings its own blessing, while it overcomes indolence, 
represses self-love, destroys the germs of every thing low 
and debased, and strengthens for all intellectual toil. It 
is not strange, that there sprung up a manly and vigorous 
race, at a period, when the study of antiquity occupied the 
schools ; when the eager youth examined, unceasingly, 
the phenomena of a world, which, through the distance, 
assumed a fairer form; and when, with the scantiest helps, 
yet with the more resolute determination, they conquered 
every difficulty. Let us trace the footsteps which these 
sterling men have left us. Instead of finding fault with 
the degeneracy of the times, let us emulate that early 
period, and, with unrelaxing energy, strive to reach the 
high mark of a truly liberal culture. Impress upon 
yourselves, that it is not merely knowledge which you 
here seek. Profound learning may be joined with 
repulsive rudeness, or extreme perverseness. The culture 
and improvement of the heart is the ultimate end of all 
acquisition. Science, indeed, cannot be regarded as of 
little worth, however unimportant its objects may appear. 
Still, it is certain, that the largest amount of it is 
insignificant, compared with the abundance of which we 
are ignorant. It is obvious, also, that the conditions of 
knowledge are often accidental. Much, which appears 
demonstrated to-day, will be uncertain to-morrow, and will 



56 CLASSICAL STUDIES. 

be abandoned ere-long. The capital of our acquisitions 
may, therefore, be diminishing, as we toil for its 
enlargement. But the effort to acquire knowledge, — 
conscientious, earnest, and intelligent study, — has a value 
independent of accidents. Moral culture, likewise, has an 
intrinsic worth, distinct from the uses to which it may be 
applied. 

If we look at the ancient world in its best aspects, as 
enclosing elegant and beautiful objects, wrought out, in 
youthful vigor and manly strength, by the human mind, 
under the most favorable circumstances ; if we regard it 
as a world of nature and art, where all, that can ennoble 
and enlarge the soul of man, is presented in the most 
diversified and perfect forms, then nothing will appear 
uninteresting to us, which can complete the sacred circle, 
and unlock the wonderful laboratory from which those 
forms proceed. Besides, the entire internal connection of 
the ancient world ; the place which each of its great men 
occupies ; the various relations in which it appears ; its 
existing and its lost works ; together with their state and 
their fortunes, merit the most careful attention. 

The ancient languages, so full of art, have a value 
in their very texture, and have an interest beyond 
being merely the instrument of communication. When 
we commend the zeal of the inquirer into nature, 
as he traces, with microscopic accuracy, its minutest 
productions, or when we applaud the anatomist, as he 
unravels the web of the human body, how can we 
undervalue the philologist, who, with untiring love, 
examines language in its elementary forms, — the best 
work of the reason, the most hallowed gift, and the fairest 
bond that connects human society ? 

But, commendable as this labor is in itself, it has a 
special reward, when directed to that language, which, 
from whatever seeds it may have first sprung, after it 



STUDY OF CLASSICAL ANTIQUITY. 57 

took root in Grecian soil, attained a wonderful growth, 
by its own native and original vigor. Through a course 
of ages, under a manifold variety of circumstances, itself 
always free from foreign admixtures, it has aided the 
efforts of the ablest men in the most beautiful works of 
art and science. In affluence, fulness, comprehensive 
development, exactness, flexibility, and grace, the Greek 
language leaves far behind all other languages of 
antiquity, and the most cultivated of modern times. As 
we watch the growth of the tender plant with wonder 
and love, and at every fresh change, experience new joy, 
so the philologist, with a love no less just, will watch the 
tender plant of the Hellenic language, as it first unfolds 
under the mild skies of Ionia ; then transplanted to the 
isles of the iEgean, to Sicily, and the southern shores 
of Italy, bearing the fragrant flowers of lyric poetry; 
afterwards striking its roots deep in Attica, and rising to 
its most perfect form, delicate and vigorous, adapting itself 
to all the uses of art and science ; till at last, touched by 
the hand of despotism, it reminds us, even in death, of the 
beautiful days of its youth. 

But the languages of Greek and Eoman antiquity, — for 
even the daughter demands a twig from the garland of 
her mother, — of themselves claim our attention as a 
wonderful and almost divine work of nature and of art, 
and as a mirror of the cultivation of highly civilized 
nations. So, also, the style of every species of their 
productions, yes, of every one of the old classics, requires 
appropriate and earnest study. The care with which the 
ancients selected their expressions, the vigor with which 
they pursued the subject of eloquence, — embraced in the 
modern terms, ' humanities ' and ' aesthetics,' — the high 
estimate which they placed upon propriety and grace in 
delivery, are known to every one who is not a stranger 
to the entire ancient world. In like manner, as the 



58 CLASSICAL STUDIES. 

poets, — though the fact is less acknowledged, — chose, 
with unfailing tact, the measure and movement for every 
subject, and examined the laws of quantity with a severity 
of which the poetry of no modern nation can boast ; so, 
also, the orators, historians and philosophers, practised, 
with equal versatility, the freer music of prosaic numbers 
in the most diversified forms of style, endowing every 
kind of utterance with the befitting measure of beauty, 
revealing a remarkable harmony between the materials 
and the expression, and proving that the airy grace 
and freedom, which delight us in their works, were not 
merely a happy hit of chance, nor the operation of genius, 
but the product of the most toilsome industry. On this 
point, the ancients themselves have taught us so perfectly, 
that every one, even should he silence his own feelings, 
can still be instructed by the most express and adequate 
examples. Perfection, — the fruit of long and patient 
exercise, — was in such estimation, that they gladly offered 
up to it the perishable laurels of universal knowledge, 
after which modern writers so zealously strive. The 
tragic poet scorned to lay hold on Homer's harp with 
an uncertain grasp, or, putting off the buskin, to walk 
carelessly over Thalia's stage. The epic bard did not 
seize the ivy, which shaded the brow of the lyric poet. 
The historian was not solicitous to gain the reputation of 
a public orator ; nor did the latter emulate the sages, who 
explained the problems of the universe, on the banks of 
the Ilissus. Thus confining themselves with a wise 
moderation, and only anxious to stand firm in their 
position, they concentrated all the rays of their talent on 
one point, and scorned not any thing, even the least, if 
it could contribute to the perfection of a work of art. 
Therefore, after the lapse of ages, these works shine like 
never setting stars, and gladden the world, and point the 



STUDY OF CLASSICAL ANTIQUITY. 59 

way, through the Syrtes of a corrupt taste, to the ideal 
of art. 

But, with the same earnestness, with which the 
ancients toiled on their work, must their interpreter toil 
on his. That which they cherished with affection so 
extraordinary, he must trace out with equal love, setting 
a like value upon what they esteemed, and never, from a 
rude zeal in behalf of the materials, and the substance, 
destroying, with unholy hand, the casket in which they 
are contained. The first demand, then, which is made 
on the interpreter of the ancients, is an exact and 
comprehensive knowledge of the classical languages in 
their varied applications ; an aptness to distinguish the 
sense pure and clear from the words by which it is 
expressed ; and, finally, an unfailing sense for the beauty 
and exactness of form in which the thought is exhibited. 
These are the primary conditions, on which that 
consecration depends, which unlocks the holy of holies 
in the ancient world. Such are the steps which lead to 
certain knowledge, and which guard against the wiles of 
airy phantoms, playing around the path of an indolence, 
that would reap where it has not sowed, that would 
amuse with illusive expectations, which lead, like the 
ignis fatuus, into the bogs of error. 

But the works of classical antiquity have come down 
to us through a long course of ages, in different ways, 
and through a great variety of fortunes. Much has 
been impaired by time and accident, by carelessness and 
ignorance. Often is the sense disfigured so as to be 
unintelligible ; or it only glimmers out from confused 
traces. Frequently has a fraud or a mistake corrupted 
that which is true and genuine. Here is a new labor 
for the interpreter. With the same conscientiousness, 
that is shown by the guardian of the old works of 
sculpture, and of the arts of design, in preserving even 



b(J CLASSICAL STUDIES. 

what is defaced, will he, also, guard from further injury 
the remains of eloquence entrusted to him, as if they 
were the common property of the human race. So far as 
he is able, he will free them from the dust with which 
time has covered them. Hence is criticism, — an art 
which has sometimes, by perversion, been exposed to the 
ridicule of ignorance, but which has still a fixed value, — 
one of the most important offices of the philologist, alike 
indispensable in every province of his labor, the smaller 
as well as the larger. By means of it, he places himself 
in the very centre of all ancient knowledge. That he 
may discriminate the genuine from the spurious, the 
original from the modern fabrication, that he may select, 
on sure grounds, not only what is in general best, but 
that which is most fitting, which most strictly corresponds 
to the relations of time and place, he needs something 
besides the knowledge of languages. He can attain his 
object only by means of history. In the record of events, 
in acquaintance with political constitutions, and with 
morals, and in the relation between literature and art 
among the ancients, he will find what he needs. Without 
this knowledge, grammar itself is dead. Without it, 
though one is possessed of all the gifts of mind, and 
powers of comprehension, he cannot penetrate into the 
spirit of antiquity, or judge of any of its works from the 
right point of view, or correctly estimate its internal 
excellence, or assign each to its true author and 
appropriate place. 

Thus we return to the point from which we took our 
departure. The mention of grammatical study, as the 
primary condition in the knowledge of antiquity, has 
brought us to something greater and higher, to a 
comprehensive view of the classical world, and, especially, 
of its standard productions. Here the single elements 
arrange themselves into an intellectual whole, which, 



STUDY OF CLASSICAL ANTIQUITY. 61 

worthy in itself of the profoundest study, points, in its 
connection, to a perfection of humanity, such as has not been 
seen before or since. No work, therefore, stands alone, 
as is mostly the case in the deficient history of modern 
literature, but one depends upon another, one presupposes, 
and is the cause of another ; and thus appears, through 
all classical antiquity down, a large and beautiful wreath 
of the noblest works, hung on the temples of the gods, on 
the constitution of the State, and on political history. 
The consideration of this inward connection of events, of 
morals, of the inner and of the outward life, of art and 
science, of legislation and philosophy, which is altogether 
peculiar to Hellenic antiquity, is so grateful, so exhilarating 
to the heart and mind, — a blooming oasis in the desert of 
the world's history, — that it fills us with consolation and 
hope, notwithstanding the painful disorders of the present 
period. Compressed into narrow limits of time and 
country, heroic spirits come forward, around whose 
radiant head is entwined the crown of patriotism, firm 
and lofty faith, contempt of danger and death ; yea, most 
of all, the crown of gentle feelings and of the most liberal 
culture. By the side of these heroes, stand those eminent 
in knowledge ; on friendly terms, both mingle together, 
without fear, envy, or pride. The poet exults in the 
warrior, and his inspiring deeds ; the warrior, in the 
poet, and his immortal songs. Often it is the same 
hand, which, in peace, takes the palm of art, and, on the 
battle-field, the laurel of bravery. In friendly union 
with both, the sage wanders through the groves of the 
gymnasia, and the halls of the temple. One learns from 
the other ; one inflames the other ; one educates the 
other, in the freest and noblest manner, by the enlivening 
intercourse. Thus the warrior not only performs great 
actions, but has thoughts and words of wisdom, and his 
6 



62 CLASSICAL STUDIES. 

companion, on the other hand, not merely teaches that 
which is good, but also performs heroic deeds. 

Those, who view antiquity from this position, will not 
hesitate to answer the inquiry, " Why should we lead the 
young over a toilsome and thorny road, into the dark land 
of a departed people, and weary them, through long years, 
with the learning of a dead language ?" There was a 
period, and it is not long since passed, when this question 
was confidently propounded, and many intelligent and 
well-meaning men entered the lists against the ancient 
usages of the schools. Looking at the subject, as they did, 
and in accordance with the existing condition of things, 
they were in the right. "Were they to be blamed for the 
compassion which they felt for the young, who squandered 
their best years in the handling of a dead instrument? 
Or was their conclusion erroneous, that the learning of a 
foreign language, so far as it is concerned with the words 
and phrases, which one exchanges, alternately, with those 
of his native speech, exercised the memory only, while the 
intellect it did not enliven, but kill ? Who can deny, that 
in many gymnasia, the labor of teachers and pupils was 
exhausted in mere idle, empty verbiage, by which the 
works of classical antiquity were transformed, through a 
pernicious perversion, from means into the principal 
end. Hence, the attacks, which were made by these 
well-meaning teachers, did not relate so much to the study 
of antiquity, as to the perversion of it. But, while they 
impugned an undeniable error, they veered round into an 
opposite mistake. They attacked the schools themselves 
in their essential characteristics. They overturned the 
temples and altars of antiquity, and made the instruction, 
not the education, of the young, the end of their labors. 
By this utilitarian spirit, — which confined the attention 
of the pupil to present and material objects; which 
accustomed him to value only such toil as would promise 



STUDY OF CLASSICAL ANTIQUITY. 63 

the most immediate fruits, — by this calculating spirit, the 
feelings were unavoidably degraded, the power of the 
imagination was smothered, and the idol of mere gain 
was lifted up on the altar of virtue. The effect of this 
error could not long remain unobserved. Its exposure 
led back to the right path. With fresh love, recourse 
was had to the ancients. The sacred fire was not yet 
extinguished under the prostrate altars. The columns of 
the temple stood unshaken. Into the edifice, streamed, 
from all sides, priests and devotees. With more 
fervor than ever, was homage paid to the majesty of 
antiquity. All its remains were brought out to light. Its 
depths were searched and illuminated. Here, as well as 
over the whole territory of the sciences, the most gratifying 
activity prevailed. Under the pressure of hostile political 
influences, the vigor of the German people, in their lofty 
struggle, revealed itself gloriously. The great events of 
modern times have brought the ancient world nearer to 
us. Its authors are more diligently studied, and better 
understood. There is hardly any district in the wide 
classical realm, which has not been enlightened by new 
and rich investigations. Hence, more than ever, have the 
greatness and worth of the classical writers interested the 
heart. The childlike ingenuousness of their wonderful 
productions has been more adequately perceived, as well 
as the noble simplicity which pervaded their entire life. 
Already, in recent events, we see the working of this 
glorious inspiration. The low and vulgar yields to the 
generous and good. All, which the susceptible heart can 
awaken, is cherished with unwonted love, and with the 
happiest results. Side by side, boldly move on the spirit 
of culture and the muse of science. Every day their 
bounds widen. 

Let nothing, therefore, hinder us from going whither 
we are called by the voices of time, the demands of our 



64 CLASSICAL STUDIES. 

better nature, and the honor of our native land. With 
mutual zeal, let us tread the path that is pointed out, and 
fix our eye on the high mark which beckons us with its 
crowns. And in this festival-hour, while I am reminded, 
in the retrospect, of the happy past, of a beloved home, and 
of that flourishing institution, which I had the honor to 
serve through a series of years, and while, in the future, a 
career is opened before me in this kingdom, and in the 
most celebrated of its schools, receive from me, at a 
moment when every thing conspires to awaken my 
deepest feelings, the assurance, that I will devote my 
entire energy to the honorable vocation entrusted to me 
by our venerated king. I know that you are animated by 
the love of knowledge, and of its generous fruits ; and, for 
myself, I desire to be so happy, as to accompany you on a 
path where you will find your best wishes gratified. 



IV. 



THE WEALTH OE THE GREEKS 



WORKS OF PLASTIC ART, 



A DISCOURSE 



FREDERIC JACOBS. 



6* 



PLASTIC ART OF THE GREEKS. 



When Pausanias travelled through Greece, in the age 
of the Antonines, he found, together with many remains 
of former prosperity, far more numerous memorials of 
past calamities. As, according to the belief of antiquity, 
the gods deserted the walls which the arm of their citizens 
could no longer defend, so, by the sceptre of Macedonian 
rulers, and the severer fasces of Roman proconsuls, the 
ancient and godlike greatness had been frightened from 
the unprotected land. The vigor of the people, once 
noble, had been broken ; their blooming plains lay wasted; 
and mourning brooded over the fields of their glory. 
Megalopolis, the latest of all the Grecian States, was 
robbed of nearly all her ornaments ; and where once 
temples and gymnasia had stood, herds of horses and 
mules now grazed in fertile meadows. The ancient 
golden Mycenae had vanished from the earth, down to 
the traces of her cyclopean walls ; haughty Thebes, the 
conqueror at Leuctra and Mantinea, had crumbled into 
ruins; Delos, once the centre of Grecian religion, was 
like the dreariest rock in the Archipelago, save in the 
beautiful reminiscences of ancient times. Even the 
surviving cities resembled only the shadow of their former 



68 CLASSICAL STUDIES. 

selves, and in their once animated streets nothing was 
astir but a dull and beggarly life. True, indeed, the 
sight of this state of things formed a sorrowful contrast 
with the recollection of ancient glory ; but the enlightened 
traveller meets the sad feeling with serious reflection. 
" The deity," says he, " has changed to nothing these 
renowned cities ; but I am not surprised thereby, for I 
know, that destiny is ever striving to produce something 
new, and changes the weak as well as the strong, by the 
j)ower of necessity." 

This reflection, simple as it seems, is nevertheless 
forgotten by many on similar occasions. But to require 
an unvarying continuance at the height of youth and 
intellectual vigor, or of beauty and prosperity, is like 
wishing to stop the wheel of time. It is unkind and 
unwise, to exact every thing of every period; and if 
art does sometimes force an untimely production from 
vegetable nature, still a like attempt in the province of 
human freedom will never be any thing better than a 
foolish war of the giants. Like the brilliant orb of day, 
the sun of fortune and prosperity passes on from sign to 
sign, and fancy and desire only can bring together what 
reality will ever leave asunder. Yet it were greatly to 
be desired, to wed the glory of departed antiquity with 
the conquests of modern times ; but vainly should we await 
the fulfilment of this desire, and foolish should we be to 
mourn over its disappointment. The past ought to be to 
us, not a source of fruitless mourning, but of encouragement 
and joy ; not to assail the reality, but to raise ourselves 
to the idea of the eternally and unchangeably great, 
should we look into the mirror of ancient times, and 
especially into the history of those nations, who as 
special favorites of Heaven, were called to bless the 
world with noble deeds, and instruct it by works of 
profound significance. But there is no nation whose 



PLASTIC ART OF THE GREEKS. 69 

history in this respect more deserves a repeated 
contemplation, than the Greeks. 

I may, therefore, be permitted, this day, which 
assembles our scientific society, to do honor to our 
royal patron, on this joyous occasion, to place before you, 
gentlemen, a fragment of the great whole, with which 
my studies are most closely connected, and to delineate 
Greece, as the fruitful mother of plastic art, with a few 
though but hasty strokes. I shall esteem myself fortunate, 
if I succeed in awakening, by my representation, in the 
minds of the intelligent judges before whose presence I 
have the honor to speak, pleasing recollections of a joyous 
and festal life, in a manner suitable to the day, which 
should be devoted, not to profound scientific inquiries, 
but to such entertainment as becomes liberally educated 
men. 

Let us, therefore, first go, pilgrim-like, to the shores of 
aged and plundered Hellas, with Pausanias and Strabo 
for our guides. Innumerable remains of ancient glory 
and art still meet the traveller's eye there, although but 
the remnants of exuberant wealth, which had escaped 
the destroying hand of time, the desolating domestic 
wars, the inroads of barbarian hordes, and the hostilities 
of Macedonian and Roman conquerors. And yet these 
remains seem to us a bewildering affluence. But, as 
Cicero says, that at Syracuse, after the temples had been 
plundered by the hand of Verres, those who guided 
travellers showed them not what still existed there, 
but enumerated what had been taken away, so the 
contemplation of what had been preserved from those 
times, and what has since been brought up again, from 
the opened bosom of the earth, leads us also inevitably to 
the recollection of the infinitely greater affluence, which, 
in the age of bloom and vigor, had embellished the cities 
and plains of Greece. 



70 CLASSICAL STUDIES. 

But that I may not be overwhelmed by the mass of 
materials that press upon me, I will confine myself to one 
species of works of art, in which the modern Avorld is 
most deficient, and the production of which, if we except 
the works of architecture, is subjected to the greatest 
difficulties, — I mean the works of plastic art. "We will not 
linger upon the works of painting, which were accumulated 
in rich collections in so many temples, halls, and places for 
social meetings; upon the multitude of metal vases adorned 
with carvings by the hands of ingenious workmen; and of 
those others, not less important for art, which, buried in 
tombs, have preserved a wonderful treasure of skill and 
learning in art ; upon the sarcophagi, altars and candelabra, 
sparkling with rich sculpture ; upon the immeasurable 
collections of engraved stones ; and, finally, upon those 
coins, whose form so far surpasses their material; — all 
these objects, so attractive in themselves, so powerful in 
their influence upon modern taste, so important for the 
knowledge of antiquity generally, must not at present fix 
our attention. Here we must only speak of statues, of 
the works of bronze and gold, of marble and ivory, " a 
subject," as Pliny says, " for many volumes, if one would 
only recount something ; since no man can speak of the 
whole." Farther on, the same writer, as if amazed at 
the abundance of the materials, says, " In the sedileship of 
M. Scaurus, there were, in the theatre built only for a 
temporary purpose, three thousand statues, works of 
Grecian art, placed upon the stage. Mummius filled the 
city, after the conquest of Achsea, with treasures of art ; 
the Luculli also made great additions. Yet the consul 
Mucianus has affirmed, that there are still three thousand 
statues in Rhodes ; and there cannot be fewer remaining 
at Athens, Olympia, and Delphi. What mortal could 
enumerate all these ? or what good would it do to know 
them all ? Still," continues he, " it will be very agreeable, 



PLASTIC ART OF THE GREEKS. 71 

to touch upon the more distinguished, and to mention those 
which, for any cause, are remarkable." Even the little 
which Pliny has, in this way, distinguished, we fancy to 
be immeasurable, and yet it was only the smallest part of 
what actually existed. Not insignificant, indeed, are the 
ruins, which time has cast upon our shores, from the 
wreck of antiquity; much among them seems to us to 
touch the very summit of art, and yet the ancients 
mention scarcely one or two. of the innumerable works 
which embellish our museums and galleries. Like Pliny, 
other tourists of antiquity have mentioned only the most 
important ; no one ever attempted, probably, to enumerate 
the whole ; or if it were done, their catalogues have all 
perished. 

It will be quite sufficient for our purpose, also, following 
the ancient example, to reason from a part to the whole. 
The affluence of art, in a few places only, has become 
known to us, and mostly by accident; but we may venture 
to affirm, that, as every Grecian town had public places of 
assembly, temples and colonnades, gymnasia and baths, 
the ornament of statues also could not have been wanting. 
For the wealth of art surprises us, by single, and, as it 
were, lost specimens, not only in the centres of culture and 
science, but even where the uneducated intellect of the 
people leads us to expect but little. As the savage hosts 
of the JEtolians had destroyed Dodona, the oldest 
sanctuary of Greece, the Macedonian warriors, burning 
with vengeance, raged with like fury in JEtolia; and 
more than two thousand statues were overthrown and 
broken in pieces by them, at Thermon, where the jEtolian 
confederacy held their congress. Now, the arts were 
never particularly cherished in .ZEtolia, more than they 
were in Pamphylia, where, however, according to Cicero's 
testimony, a vast treasure of the most excellent works of 
art was to be found at Aspendus. Who would have 



72 CLASSICAL STUDIES. 

suspected the existence of many works of art in Epirus ? 
and yet Livy informs us, that Ambracia was filled with 
the rarest works, with statues of marble and bronze, and 
with numerous pictures, which dazzled the eyes of the 
Romans, at the triumph of Fulvius Nobilior. So, also, in 
many towns of small importance, as every body knows, 
works of the greatest masters are mentioned by name ; 
and here it may also be said, that no Grecian town was 
without its gods. 

But, that this affluence may be placed more clearly 
before our eyes, we will pass in review some of the 
fortunate places which made the fairest show of the 
wonders of art. First, the country of Pythagoras invites 
us, by its primeval splendor, — the fertile Samos, where 
rose that ancient temple of Juno, a work of Rhcecus, and, 
in the times of Herodotus, one of the oldest in Greece. 
What the city contained, no writer says ; but the temple 
was filled with statues, among which, three, of colossal 
size, from Myron's hand, inflamed the avarice of Antony, 
the triumvir. Opposite Samos, lay the wealthy Ephesus, 
and, in its neighborhood, Diana's wondrous fane, whose 
statues,, according to an expression of Pliny, would afford 
materials for many volumes. At a short distance, lay 
outspread, like an embroidered tissue, JEolian Smyrna, 
where temple ranged on temple, and theatres, gymnasia, 
and baths, not one of which was without its statues, 
alternately followed. But, among the dwelling-places of 
ancient art in that region, no country shone with greater 
splendor than the island of Rhodes, that ancient seat of 
commerce and wealth, upon which, according to Homeric 
fable, " the son of Saturn had poured down the fulness of 
abundance." More than one harbor of magnificent 
architecture here opened its arms to the ships of the 
Phoenicians and Egyptians, and, even from afar, 
numerous turrets announced a seat of power. Enriched 



PLASTIC ART OF THE GREEKS. 73 

by commercial activity, and the wise use of favoring 
circumstances, the city, which first raised its head in 
Lysander's time, had grown up to wondrous beauty. 
Although the assertion of a rhetorical Greek, that Ehodes 
contained as many statues as all the rest of Greece, may 
seem an exaggeration, yet the testimony of Pliny is 
unsuspected, who, in a passage cited before, speaks of 
three thousand statues. But among these, according to 
the same authority, besides the most celebrated of all 
colossal statues, which was an image of the Sun, were 
found a hundred others, each important enough, to make 
the place in which it should but stand, renowned. And, 
even when an earthquake, in the second century of the 
Christian era, had destroyed the city, there yet remained, 
after infinite losses, as Aristides asserts, so many works of 
art, that a portion of this remnant would have sufficed for 
the glory of other cities. 

I pass over several remarkable seats of ancient art; 
that enormous temple of the Branchida^, near Miletus ; 
the temple of iEsculapius, in Cos ; Cyzicus, so filled with 
temples and statues of the gods, as if the powers of heaven 
had been rivals for the honor of protecting the city; 
the sacred grove of Apollo, at Antioch, a monument of 
luxurious kings, who loved the arts ; Alexandria, finally, 
the rich burial-place of the great and accomplished 
conqueror, whose name it bore, with its regal display, and 
its festal processions, which were the triumph of splendor 
and the prodigality of art ; I pass over all these, in order 
to continue my way over the islands, those forecourts of 
Attica, to Hellas proper, where the harbors of Piraeus 
and Munychia, and the beloved city of Athena, protecting 
goddess of art, await us. 

Here, however, the quantity of matter presses so 
overpoweringly upon us, that a complete delineation of 
what is most important only would far transcend the limits 
7 



74 CLASSICAL STUDIES. 

of this discourse. The historian Hegesias, after having 
begun to enumerate the wonders of Athens, broke off, with 
the enthusiastic exclamation, " All cannot be mentioned, for 
Athens is built by the gods and by ancestral heroes." But 
the orator Aristides says, " The greatness of the city, and 
its splendor, correspond to its fortune in other respects, 
and to the great name of its inhabitants. Art here vies 
with nature ; a pure and mild sky encompasses the land ; 
large and secure harbors open here ; but of art, it is hard 
to say what should be called the first and greatest ; for 
here are the greatest and fairest temples that can any 
where be found, and statues of the foremost rank, old and 
new. Suppose, therefore," continues he, " we strip this 
city of its ancient and fabulous renown, its trophies by 
land and by sea, its orators and heroes, and all wherewith 
it has filled up the long time of its existence, yet will it 
take precedence of every other city by what we see before 
our eyes." Thus Aristides extols ancient Athens under 
the reign of the second Antonine ; and what was then 
true on comparison with other Grecian cities, will even 
now be found true, if we compare the remains of her 
flourishing age with the remains of art in other places of 
Greece. But, though these monuments and the testimonies 
of antiquity were silent, still we might reasonably suppose, 
that, in a country to whose bosom nature had committed 
the seeds of art, where more than elsewhere the fear of 
the gods, the love of the beautiful, and the reverence for 
sacred custom dwelt, art, which is the child of religion and 
the pupil of modesty, would love to linger, and would leave 
most traces of its existence. As the Apollo at Delos was 
represented in a significant form of ancient times, with 
the terrible bow in his right hand, and on his left the 
intertwining Graces, each holding a musical instrument, 
so Athens appears to us, at the time of her bloom, 
equally armed for war and ready for the dance. It is 



PLASTIC ART OF THE GREEKS. 75 

enough, here, to allude to the efforts of Cimon, who 
ornamented the public squares of the city from his private 
fortune, and the name of Pericles, which comprehends a 
long and famous history of brilliant achievements for art. 
As, in the earliest times, all the streets were filled with 
Hermae, so after the Persian victories, markets and halls, 
temples and gymnasia were adorned with innumerable 
statues from the hands of the greatest masters. But 
especially had the works of art become so crowded upon 
the Acropolis, that this height seemed to the astonished 
traveller like one holy offering, one great work of art. 
To this citadel, an earthly Olympus, as it were, a gigantic 
flight of steps conducted him through the Propylssa, which 
opened in five-fold gates, to a world of forms of gods and 
men, in the temples and halls. Here Phidias had erected 
the brazen statue of Minerva, for the temple of Polias, 
whose helmet's plume flashed to meet the sailor 
approaching from the Sunian promontory ; and that other 
brazen Pallas, which bore the name of " the beautiful," 
or the Lemnian, and a third, the " immortal maid," the 
protecting goddess of the Parthenon, that enormous 
Colossus of ivory and gold, forty feet in height. On her 
right hand perched the goddess of victory, itself an image 
of superhuman size, presenting to the goddess of war the 
symbolical fillet. After these works, it is useless to speak 
of others. It may be sufficient to state, that, after the city 
had been so often plundered, Pausanias mentions by name 
towards three hundred remarkable statues still within the 
circuit of Athens ; the rest, however, without fixing their 
number, he indicates only in the mass. 

We leave the centre of Hellenic culture, Athens, the 
lover of art, whose virtues have gained for her the reward 
of an enduring glory, and inspired respect even in the 
time of her abasement; Athens, whose name to every 
cultivated mind is synonymous with all that is greatest 



76 CLASSICAL STUDIES. 

and best in the genius of man. The numerous works of 
art, which covered all Attica, must not detain our steps ; 
nor yet the remains of the ancient glory of Thebes, nor 
Thespiae, the sacred city of Eros ; nor Helicon, with its 
primeval groves, its inspiring fountains, and its quires of 
muses, whose images here, beside the statues of other 
gods, stood surrounded by numerous statues of ancient 
poets ; but along the margin of the Cephissus, where 
rises the ancient seat of the Graces of Eteocles, wend we 
towards Delphi, " to Apollo's threshold, in rocky Pytho," 
where the gratitude of wealthy foreign princes, vieing 
with the piety of Hellenic cities, had adorned the 
treasuries and the enclosure of the temple with offerings 
and images. From afar was seen an innumerable 
multitude of statues of victors, some raised on four-horse 
chariots of shining bronze, that seemed to the rapacious 
hosts of Brennus massive gold. More than once had 
avarice been inflamed by the treasures of this temple ; 
more than once it had been a prey to the flames ; and yet 
Nero found in its precincts still five hundred brazen statues 
which he was tempted to carry off, while he left behind, 
with many of less importance, some hundreds which 
Pausanias held not unworthy to be expressly mentioned. 

At the gates of the Peloponnesus, an equal display was 
made by Corinth, which, on two seas enthroned, opened 
her ports to the treasures of eastern and western commerce. 
Cherished by affluence, domestic art had here grown up. 
How immense was the profusion of works of art in this 
flourishing city was not known until its destruction. 
During several days had the flames raged in Corinth, 
destructive even to the conqueror, and still the multitude 
of statues, pictures and other treasures, which fell into 
the victor's hands, almost surpassed belief. Many were 
destroyed by the Roman warriors ; many were dispersed by 
the Roman generals themselves among the cities of Greece ; 



PLASTIC ART OF THE GREEKS. 77 

others fell into the hands of the king of Pergamus ; others 
were devoted as first offerings to the Olympian Jupiter 
and the Delphian Apollo ; hut with the remainder not 
only Kome but all Italy was filled. Afterwards Corinth 
rose again from its ashes ; and immediately the love of 
art, like a native plant of the soil, put forth its shoots with 
new splendor. And so Pausanias found it, after the lapse 
of a century, to his astonishment, adorned by a multitude 
of works of the great masters. 

Many parts of the Peloponnesus, although, on the 
whole, less the seat of culture than northern Greece, were 
rich in works of art; but we pass over Argos, with its 
temple, world-renowned for a statue of Juno, from the 
hand of Polycletus ; Epidaurus, too, with its ancient 
sanctuary of iEsculapius, — and Megalopolis, and Tegea, 
and Phigaleia, a short time since revealed again through 
the unwearied diligence of travellers, lovers of art, in order 
to visit, on the banks of the Alpheus, in the grove of 
Olympian Jupiter, a more crowded treasury of works of art. 

This whole region seemed a garden of the gods, and 
was rightly called a grove of Jupiter. Thick forests, the 
dwellings of Artemis, and the nymphs and Aphrodite, 
overshadowed clear streams, with flowery banks, every 
where sanctified by temples, and encompassed by Hermae 
and statues. But Olympia itself seemed to be the centre 
of all that was holy, as the temple of Jupiter, a wondrous 
massive structure of the grandest style, was the central 
point of Olympia. Hovering on its front pediment, the 
goddess of victory declared the presence of the sovereign 
arbiter in the most sacred games. Numerous offerings, 
thrones and statues, brazen cars and tripods, filled the 
forecourt ; but in the interior of the temple, the colossal 
statue of Jupiter, from the hand of Phidias, outshone 
every other work. This colossus, in which the dignified 
representation of the highest majesty went far beyond the 

7*= 



78 CLASSICAL STUDIES. 

admiration which its size produced at the first view, might 
again pass for a combination of the most varied sculpture. 
Perched on the right hand of the god, the goddess of victory 
held out the olive crown to the son of Saturn ; by his side, 
were dancing, on the arm of the throne, the Hours and the 
Graces, as well as the goddesses of victory at its foot. 
The golden robe, which floated around his limbs and feet, 
was broidered with flowers, and figures of animals, and all 
the spaces of the throne with work in relief. For the 
love of art among the ancients was expressed, also, in the 
quantity of ornamental sculpture, with which great works 
were covered, down to the smallest parts, the shields, the 
sandals, the thrones and temple gates, the friezes and the 
pediments. But besides the colossus of Jupiter, Pausanias 
saw there about eighteen statues, the poor remains of a 
great treasure diminished by Nero. Next arose a temple 
of Juno, where Pausanias found still twenty statues of 
gods, chiefly of ivory and gold, and by great masters. 
But in the Altis, at the foot of the Cronian hill, there 
stood, to omit much besides, an almost incredible multitude 
of statues of Jupiter, and among them, five of colossal size, 
the largest of which measured seven and twenty feet, and 
the smallest six ells ; a group, of Jupiter, Thetis, and Day ; 
and next another, of ten champions, a work of Myron ; 
finally, a third, in which, again, Jupiter appeared, with 
Nemea, and five other heroines. In the same enclosure 
of the Altis, was seen a group of five-and-thirty boys ; 
another, of nine heroes, who were casting lots for the 
honor of the duel, and Nestor, who was collecting the 
lots ; a colossus of Hercules, ten ells in height ; several of 
the labors of this hero ; statues of Amphitrite, of Poseidon, 
of Hestia, of Persephone, of Aphrodite, of Ganymede, of 
Artemis, of iEsculapius and Hygeia, of Homer and 
Hesiod, of Bacchus and Orpheus, and of many others, 
by the first masters. But of combatants, Pausanias 



PLASTIC ART OF THE GREEKS. 



79 



enumerates, in the same enclosure, two hundred and 
some thirty statues, expressly reminding us, that he makes 
mention only of the most remarkable. It is easy to 
believe, that there may have been no small number of 
those of less importance. 

The many states of Magna Grecia, some of which 
were powerful, were no less depositaries of art. Thus, 
to mention some, Tarentum was found by the Roman 
conquerors filled with statues. Syracuse equally, and 
most of the cities of Sicily. Even the ruins of their 
temples, theatres, and palaces, still bear emphatic testimony 
to an age of high art. The temple of a Juno Lacinia, all 
Capua and Cumae, Syracuse and Enna, the temples of 
Selinus and Agrigentum, even now the wonder of 
travellers, contained numerous statues, and many other 
offerings, which here, as every where, wealth or gratitude 
had consecrated. 

When these depositaries of art in the East and West 
fell into the power of the Romans, is it strange, that Rome, 
and the Latin cities, and the villas of the great and rich, 
were converted into great halls of art ? Earlier, martial 
Rome, which, according to the expression of Plutarch, 
knew no ornaments but arms and spoils, furnished to 
the unwarlike and luxurious spectators no pleasing or 
unalarming spectacle. " To melt brass, and breathe into 
it the soul of art, or to create living forms in marble," the 
Roman had not learned. " His art was government and 
war." Tuscan artists had furnished him with what 
religion required, of wood or clay, earthen gods, just 
deities, who were looked back upon, with regret, in 
the evil days of tyranny, by ingenious panegyrists of the 
olden time, with pardonable over-estimation. But after 
Marcellus, the famous conqueror of Syracuse, had carried 
thence a multitude of statues, as the rightful spoils of 
war, and had turned the rude minds of his fellow-citizens 



80 CLASSICAL STUDIES. 

to the admiration of these works, then were all military 
commanders anxious to lend their triumphs a splendor 
before unknown, by works of art. So, T. Quinctius 
Flamininus, the conqueror of Macedonia, and the liberator 
of Hellas ; so, M. Fulvius, who, after the conquest of the 
iEtolians, had two hundred and eighty-five brazen, and two 
hundred and thirty marble statues borne in his triumphal 
procession. A few years after, iEmilius Paulus celebrated 
a still more splendid triumph, when the captured images 
and colossal statues were carried on two hundred and 
fifty chariots. After a short period of time, Rome saw, 
in one year, the spoils of Carthage and Corinth, and, 
somewhat later, in the triumph of Sylla, the ornaments 
of wealthy Asia borne to the Capitol. Thus, in almost 
uninterrupted triumphs, in the course of a century, the 
finest works of Grecian art travelled to Rome, at first a 
decoration of the city, its temples, and markets ; but anon, 
when virtue gave way to private interest, an ambiguous 
ornament of the houses and villas, where, formerly, only 
captured arms, and the images of ancestors had proclaimed 
the fame of Roman virtue. Now, also, the common soldier 
learned to despise the temples of the gods ; to confound 
what was sacred and what was profane ; to aspire to 
statues and richly wrought furniture ; and to nourish 
desires, which became a new pretext for violence in war, 
and oppression in peace. As already, in the times of the 
republic, Lucullus and others regarded the statues of the 
Grecian masters as the fairest embellishment of their regal 
country palaces, of which they never had enough, so, later, 
did the Csesars, also. 

Even without the pretext of war and triumphs, the gods 
of Greece were torn from their temples, and borne away 
over the sea, and served to heighten the splendor of the 
haughty mistress of the world, and her princes. Soon 
there dwelt in Rome as many statues as men ; and the 



PLASTIC ART OF THE GREEKS. 81 

rich mines of art, which modern times have disclosed in 
the soil of Tibur and Tusculum, on the Alban Mount, and 
at Antium, and other places in the neighborhood of Rome, 
have sufficiently taught us, that the region round about 
was not much less rich than the capital city itself. It is 
remarkable here, that amidst all these riches of ancient 
and lofty art, a profound sense of art was never created 
in Rome, and no Roman artist, of whom we know, 
produced any great work. Even had the creative 
power not been denied them, still, perhaps, it could not 
be unfolded, in the crowd of such numerous and varied 
enjoyments as the capital of the world supplied. For 
contemplation, they had but very little time ; quiet was 
wanting for study, both from without, and, in most cases, 
from within. 

If we now turn our eyes from this infinitely rich plastic 
world to our own, what the latter has produced, seems 
almost trifling, considered with reference to the extent 
of all the European countries, and those settled by 
Europeans. While painting, without special models, 
reached the highest summit of conceivable excellence, 
in the course of a single century, after its revival, 
and filled all the countries of Europe, even to the 
boundaries of Asia, with its marvels, sculpture has but 
seldom passed beyond the barriers of imitation, though 
instructed by the greatest models. It is laboriously 
propagated, only in an artificial warmth, just as if its 
productive power had been exhausted in Hellas. Its few 
and scattered works seldom proceed from the inner life ; 
still more rarely do they enlarge the province of forms by 
new and genial creations. Some that have attempted to 
open new paths have gone astray therein; most, lingering 
on the beaten track, have contented themselves to give back 
the old in manifold combinations. But, finally, all that has 
been produced in one way or the other, even as to number, 



82 CLASSICAL STUDIES. 

is but little, when compared with the ancient, and when 
we consider the extent of the geographical boundaries 
over which the efforts of art have extended. This twofold 
phenomenon is worthy of consideration, as is every thing 
that can lead to a clear and distinct knowledge of the 
modern and ancient world, and of their difference, and 
that consequently may disclose to us the essential character 
of both, with their contrasts. 

Now, if Ave trace this difference to its origin, we must 
go back to the deepest principle in the nature of man, — 
to religion. Polytheism was the religion given to the 
youth of man, but Christianity was revealed to him in the 
fulness of time, in the maturity of his age. The former 
appears in Hellas in its highest power; and whatever 
could be accomplished by heathenism was accomplished in 
Greece. To recognize the Deity in the living power of 
nature was no exclusive prerogative of the Greeks ; other 
nations of lively sensibility have also reverenced as deities 
the single rays of the Divine Being separated from their 
common centre ; and we can hardly yield to the Greeks in 
this respect any other precedence than that they, by their 
livelier fancy and deeper feeling, traced more devoutly than 
others a divine life in every fair or mighty appearance. 
But it was peculiar to them, that, among all the 
phenomena of nature, they distinguished man as the first 
and noblest, and recognized in his form the highest sensible 
manifestation of the Divine Being. While, therefore, 
in other climates, Polytheism desecrated its altars and 
temples by significant images, before whose deformity the 
divine nature seems to flee, the Greek created God in 
his own image, as the purest symbol of the divine nature, 
and associated to every phenomenon in which he felt God's 
life-giving breath, a being, who appeared to his imagination 
under human guise as an object of human devotion. Thus, 
religion, which, according to its general nature is absorbed 



PLASTIC ART OF THE GREEKS. 83 

into the immeasurableness of the formless infinite, fixed 
the eye of the Greeks upon the limitation of the human 
form, and the plastic sense, which usually disappears with 
the childhood of nations, was made permanent among the 
Greeks by religion. But this origin is also to be looked 
upon as the source of that inspiration, which transfigures 
whatever of beauty reality supplies into the most beautiful ; 
and if, as one of the ancients says, the higher nature of the 
gods had passed into art, because art had been borrowed 
from the gods, it may be particularly affirmed of plastic 
art, that it became godlike, through the representation 
of the gods. For, as its task was to show the divine 
excellence under the limitation of the human body, it 
could not, like Egyptian art, confine itself to a laborious 
modelling of what the present supplied them, but was 
early forced to strike out lofty forms, in whose intelligible 
proportions a higher nature might be traced. 

Therefore Pausanias says, of the works of Daedalus, 
that, with all their clumsiness of execution, they gave 
intimations of a high and divine character. Thus was 
done, in the beginning of art, what Plato prescribes, as a 
law to the artists of his republic, " that they should create 
nothing illiberal or deformed, as well as nothing immoral 
and loose, but should every where strive to attain to the 
nature of the beautiful and the becoming." Moreover, as 
a cheerful serenity stamped the character of this religion 
of the senses, and the felicity of the celestial beings 
consisted in passing their time free from care, it would, 
for this reason, the less occur to the thoughts of the creator 
of a divine form, to remind us, in the figure of a god, of 
the toilsome development of a common human nature, in 
proportion as he found more prototypes of what was 
noblest and most beautiful, in the figures of finely 
organized and happily developed men. Much rather 
must the forms of his gods have appeared to him as 



84 CLASSICAL STUDIES. 

having sprung into being free from toilsome effort, like the 
Aphrodite of the ancient fable, who, born, without a pang, in 
the watery element, landed on the flowery shore of Paphos, 
in the perfection of her spontaneously unfolded beauty. 

But, as religion produced the ideality of art, so, on the 
other hand, the ideality of art gave birth to religion. 
Such forms, as ancient sculpture placed upon the altars, 
seemed taken from a higher world; their beauty and 
dignity had the effect of creating a belief in their actual 
existence, and commanded reverence. And, certainly, an 
art which so blended the earthly with the heavenly, and 
visibly presented, what Plato calls the most beautiful 
spectacle, the harmony of beautiful manners with a 
beautiful configuration, had a well-founded right to hold 
up its works to veneration. 

Thus that tendency of religion operated directly upon 
the creative art, and, indirectly, towards the production of 
the often-noticed plastic character of the Greeks. This 
character, which all their poetry, nay, the language itself, 
and the rhythmical movement of the language, declare, is 
visible, even to the purblind eye, in Homer, and other 
ancient poets, whose works, on the other hand, as the 
universal fountain of all culture, nourished the plastic 
sense among the people. From the Homeric poetry, and, 
later, from the works of the tragic writers, came forth a 
world of sculpture. And was not all ancient fable a 
gallery of mighty forms of gods and heroes, which were, 
for the most part, embodied in the world of art, also ? 
And must not our art make daily pilgrimages to those 
fountains, silently confessing, that the modern world, and 
its poetry, especially, is wanting in the life of form ? 

Thus, therefore, plastic art sprang from religion ; not, 
indeed, from that external want of paganism, which even 
the formless symbol satisfies, as the object of worship, but 
from the deepest sources of Hellenic anthropomorphism. 



PLASTIC ART OF THE GREEKS. 85 

But when the temples of the gods had once been 
decorated with the images of their protectors, the circle 
of art was soon enlarged, and embraced every thing that 
but touched upon the wide boundaries of the world of 
gods. Even heroes entered therein, and mortals, who, by 
mighty deeds, lofty virtues, or distinguished fortune, had 
attested a divine nature, and the favor of Heaven. Here, 
every age and sex found its place. Nay, this circle was 
enlarged, even to the boundaries of the animal kingdom, 
by the images of fawns and satyrs, and other natures of a 
mingled kind; and the material of art became at once 
attractive, by its higher relations and its endless affluence. 
It is enough, here, besides the variety of forms on Olympus 
itself, to call to mind the attendants of the gods, the 
motley throng of a Dionysiac procession, the picturesque 
arrangement and display of the festivals, and the wide 
world of public games. 

But after plastic art had, in the mode described, been 
taken up and nurtured in the bosom of religion, it was 
adopted by the State, and cherished in every way. Both 
were closely united ; not, however, in so material a way as 
those teach us, who consider priestly fraud and state craft 
to be the levers of ancient republican virtue, but by closer 
bonds of a spiritual union. Burning love of country, 
that rich germ of Grecian virtues, was most closely and 
intimately united with faith in the marvels of the ancient 
gods and heroes, as those who had roamed over the same 
soil, and had lived and loved, in human form, among their 
ancestors. It was a necessity to believing posterity, to 
encounter their images on every sacred spot where their 
deeds were done, where they were born, where they were 
released from the bonds of mortality. The whole history 
of Hellenic antiquity was interwoven with gods, and the 
whole soil of Greece was consecrated by ancient legends 
of their marvels. Thus their forms opened and cherished 



8b CLASSICAL STUDIES. 

the patriotic heart. In many places where they were 
honored, they still wrought through oracles and wonders ; 
so that the place of worship and its object seemed 
inseparable. Hence, too, the religious effect of those 
statues, — as of the Jupiter, at Olympia, where he, himself, 
as arbiter supreme, assigned the highest of the prizes ; or 
of Pallas, who surveyed her beloved city from the 
Acropolis, — must have been quite other than in a collection 
of art, where the religious sense, without which no such 
work can be sufficiently understood, is checked and 
restrained in various ways. 

Upon the influence of climate on art and taste, 
much has been written ; more, perhaps, than is wanted ; 
but less notice has been taken of the bond which unites 
the temperature with the form of government, and the 
form of government with art. That serene heaven which 
Greece enjoys, was the best loved roof of its inhabitants ; 
the cooling breeze, the resounding sea, and the brilliant 
sun, were the delight of the people, and the joy of their 
life. They passed their time, the greater part of the year, 
exempt from toil, in the midst of nature, in the cheerful 
enjoyment of their existence, and in the excitements of 
social intercourse. Even in the flourishing period of 
Athens, the city seemed to those, who lived after the 
ancient fashion, only a resort for the intercourse of the 
busy, and the country was looked upon as the happy 
home ; and many an old Greek regarded the city as a 
huge prison. But these prisons must needs at least be 
cheerful. Hence, no Grecian city was without its public 
squares, airy colonnades, spacious halls, and shady groves ; 
here the people lived, here they transacted their business, 
and enjoyed their leisure. With the climate corresponded 
the form of government, and as this increased the tendency 
to an out-of-door life, it is nothing strange, that the people 
sought to adorn, in every way, the public places which 



PLASTIC ART OF THE GREEKS. 87 

were their ordinary abodes, and where they assembled for 
common consultations on the most important affairs. The 
peculiar spirit common to the civil constitutions, was 
nurtured by the publicity of life. The residences of 
private men were small, the interior embellishments 
insignificant ; so that even what in later times is censured 
as extravagant luxury, is only a proof of the simplicity of 
domestic life. But to devote to the State what was 
abstracted from selfish enjoyment; to beautify the city by 
religious festivals, brilliant spectacles, and immortal works 
of art, this was the glory of a patriotic Greek. Inasmuch, 
therefore, as a thousand slender streamlets poured into 
the sea of the common weal, it became possible, by 
the smallest means, to bring about the greatest ends. 
Frequently, patriotic artists wrought without reward, for 
the decoration of the city, content with the appropriate 
enjoyment, the pleasure of their contemporaries, and the 
hope of future fame. And as every work of art was 
designed for the public enjoyment, so was the artist 
himself, also, according to an expression of Pliny, more 
than any where else, a common property of the world. 

But, besides this, the publicity of life had for art the 
double advantage, first, that it led undesignedly to the 
contemplation of nature in her most genuine manifestations, 
which for the artist, at least, was as important as the often 
contested excellences of Grecian beauty; but, secondly, 
that it maintained art upon a dignified elevation. Directed 
to the public, she nourished herself with an energetic life, 
and unfolded her wings in her native air, where she was 
maimed and limited by no individual caprices. So long, 
therefore, as public life existed in its dignity, so long did 
art maintain herself upon her serene elevation ; and she 
sank, when that was degraded. The Macedonian princes, 
who honored in degenerate Greece the dwelling-place of 
virtue, left to most of the cities their self-government; 



88 CLASSICAL STUDIES. 

and yet the defeat at Cheronea was the turning-point 
of Hellenic excellence. The gladness of popular life 
vanished ; the free spirit was broken ; the ennobling pride 
of the citizen was humbled ; only dull sparks of hope yet 
slumbered under the ashes of ancient recollections. As 
the base and evil will gains no power over the individual, 
so long as his spirit soars on the wings of inspiring 
ideas, and only comes to power when they are eclipsed ; 
so, also, in Greece, the deadly tare began then first to 
grow rank when the genii of joy and conscious dignity 
had vanished from her happy plains. The change was 
rapid. Noble pride was expelled by ignominious flattery ; 
the guiding stars of poetry and art were clouded over, 
and morals, which had come to a splendid maturity, 
robbed of animating light, lost strength and hue. 

Thus, also, the prosperity of art was bound, by the 
closest ties, to the flourishing state of the Grecian civic 
governments, not only on account of the outward means, 
though these, too, were not to be despised, but especially 
on account of the interior life, which was thereby 
nourished and made productive. But the outward ability, 
also, of producing so numerous and costly works for the 
decoration of the cities, was closely dependent on the 
popular feeling which the civic constitution cherished. 
Wants were little, life was easy, and, what was more 
important than all, the idea of country held self-interest 
in check. The commonwealth was rich through the 
moderation of its members. Individuals provided for the 
gladness and adornment of life, as for their other wants, 
and it was the glory of an honest citizen, to do in this 
matter not the least, but the most, he could. A noble 
rivalry kindled the community, and nothing finer can be 
said in praise of Grecian culture, than that the promotion 
of the arts was the means by which the favor of the 
citizens was won. How many nations are there, who 



PLASTIC ART OF THE GREEKS. 89 

could have been controlled by such means of popular 
influence as those that Pericles employed ? 

Wealth, therefore, was not, properly speaking, the 
patron of art, but civic virtue, the consort of a decent and 
philosophic poverty. Wealth has never, by itself, created 
any thing great; and even as an aid, it is without value, 
unless it move in the train of virtue. Thessaly, too, was 
rich. But when did the Thessalians ever do any thing 
great? Where did they ever, by the cultivation of the 
arts, betray a higher civilization ? 

As art was the daughter of civic virtue, so was she also 
the reward. The doers of famous deeds, the promoters 
of the country's glory in war and peace, the sages and 
the poets, were celebrated by works of art, and their forms 
handed down to after ages. Even acts of piety and filial 
love, or useful inventions, were eternized by statues, and 
hallowed in temples. " To be set up in bronze," says a 
later Grecian orator, " seems to noble men exceedingly 
excellent ; and it is a worthy reward of virtue, to stand, 
not like contemporaries, but to retain one's name after 
death, and to leave behind a visible sign of eminence. 
Countless numbers were held worthy of such an honor." 

Now it is far from wonderful, that a more than ordinary, 
a religious love for plastic art, encounters us every where 
in those States, as a sort of distinguishing mark of the 
Hellenic nature. He deserves to be called the most 
excellent, says Pindar, who knows much of nature. 
Grecian art was eminently excellent, because it sprung 
from the Grecian's inmost nature, and for that reason, the 
Greeks welcomed her to their heart of hearts. But how 
living and deeply-rooted this love for art was in Greece, 
may be pre-supposed as known ; the source, also, of this 
love is clear from the preceding remarks. From this 
sprang that religious opinion of the sacredness and 
inviolability of every work of art; an opinion, which, 



90 CLASSICAL STUDIES. 

where it does not spring from feeling, cannot be forced by 
prescription. Those works were regarded as precious 
common possessions of every citizen; and, according to 
Cicero's assertion, no example was known of a Grecian 
city's having alienated such treasures. When, therefore, 
Nicomedes, of Bithynia, wished to buy of the Cnidians 
the Aphrodite of Praxiteles, with the promise of relieving 
the city of its pressing burden of debt, they replied, that 
they would rather submit to any hardship than bear this 
loss. In fact, many a city was rendered famous by a 
single work of art. Strabo relates, that after the Eros of 
Praxiteles was erected at Thespise, in Boeotia, travellers 
came from every quarter thither, though, before that time, 
Thespias was never visited. When Demetrius, the son of 
Antigonus, beleagured Rhodes, the beleagured citizens 
desired, above all things, the preservation of the Ialysus, 
by Protogenes, a picture situated in an exposed quarter of 
the city; and when they applied in this behalf, to the 
enemy, by ambassadors, he answered them, that he would 
rather burn the images of his fathers, than a work of such 
high art. This refined solicitude for the preservation of 
the beautiful was not only of a totally different nature from 
that mania-like dilettanteism, which, after the subjugation 
of Greece, took possession of the Romans, but it had 
grown up in a wholly peculiar manner, with the growth 
of Grecian culture, so that it is nothing strange, if we find 
the same sense again, even beyond the world of art, in all 
the phenomena of the higher Hellenic life. Even the 
constant sight of such great and noble works of art must 
have affected life, and given it a nobler bearing ; and the 
higher sentiments, out of which they had sprung, were, in 
turn, cherished by them. Hence we find, not only in their 
poetry, but, also, in the manners of the better age, that 
harmonious proportion, that quiet greatness, that pleasing 
grace, and that balance between the overflowing joy of life 



PLASTIC ART OF THE GREEKS. 91 

and severe regularity, which showed itself in ancient 
sculpture, as it were, at its highest point ; and they not 
only honored beauty in nature and art, as it was honored 
no where else, but also strove to represent the harmony of 
character and of the form, on which all beauty rests, in 
bearing and address, and to introduce it into the common 
intercourse of life. Graceful demeanor thus became a 
distinguishing mark of Hellenism ; for the reverence of a 
well-attempered character had its due effect upon outward 
appearance ; hence, in Pericles, his serious aspect, his 
composed gait, the becoming arrangement of his robe, the 
quiet modulation of his voice, are commemorated, just as 
if the silent dignity of an animated work of art were the 
object of praise. So long as this respect for the becoming 
was prevalent, art also flourished; and when moderation 
in externals was forgotten, and an appearance of vigor was 
sought by violent motions and neglected array, then the 
period of the grand style in art, as well as in manners, 
was over. 

It is unnecessary expressly to remark, that this love for 
art, penetrating through life itself, not only favored, but, 
to a certain degree, demanded, the multiplication of its 
works. But when the deeper fountains were dried 
up, their influence, nevertheless, as is usually the case, 
still continued, as the light of a lost star would shine 
upon the inhabitants of the earth, centuries after its 
extinction. After the age of Alexander the Great, whose 
love of art, perhaps, was only a Hellenized self-interest, 
creative art made no further progress ; but the impulse 
given in better times worked on mechanically; the 
tradition of excellence remained ; external respect for art 
was still propagated; adroitness in art was even increased, 
and, as the living fountain of new creations was exhausted, 
the works of earlier times were imitated. The successors 
of the Macedonian conqueror gave employment to the 



92 CLASSICAL STUDIES. 

artists, not without zeal, though not with a genuine sense 
of art ; and what numerous and gigantic works their will 
commanded, is told on every page of their history. 
Thus the works of plastic art were multiplied ; the old 
was repeated; and the limits earlier drawn, were ever 
filling more and more. Hence we perceive, in so many 
later works, the peculiar beauty of antiquity ; as, also, in 
the productions of their eloquence and poetry, in the age of 
exhausted vigor, often with meagre materials, and deficient 
fulness of life, we still can trace a breath of the sense of art. 

Now since the interior causes have been assigned, by 
which the exceeding affluence of works of plastic art in 
the Grecian States is comprehensible, — religion, public 
feeling and the love for art, — it only remains for me to cast 
a hasty glance upon the modern world, in order to place 
the feeling and the spirit of antiquity in a clearer light by 
the contrast. 

Here, then, it appears, as if the tendency to this kind 
of art were rather acquired than natural, although many 
distinguished artists have practised sculpture with brilliant 
success. Having every outward appliance to inspire her 
with life, enjoying the profoundest instruction in theory 
and execution, she still lives almost entirely by the use of 
external means, being quite too feeble to sustain herself 
and prolong her own existence. More the daughter of 
ambition than of love, she almost ever moves in the 
train of power and rank alone ; and as she makes her 
appearance but seldom, the interest felt in her existence 
is but small. So her life, too, cannot be energetic. Among 
the Greeks, this art, like every other, grew up from the 
deepest roots of life; and whoever among them exercised it, 
practised it as one should practise virtue, as the calling of 
his very soul. To obey this inward calling was religion. 
Thus art arose and flourished. From the country's soil she 
drew her vigor, as Antaeus gained new strength from the 



PLASTIC ART OF THE GREEKS. 93 

bosom of mother earth; but her radiance she borrowed from 
Olympus, and the faith in the world of gods and heroes. 
Forced to seek the means of culture within their own 
boundaries, — for what could foreign nations have supplied 
them, but the simplest elements ? — the Greeks gave every 
science a thoroughly national form, and yet, by reason 
of the happy unfolding of their pure nature, a universal 
one. Modern plastic art, on the contrary, especially the 
German, for the most part allured abroad by admiration 
of what is already completed, has been unable to acquire 
any peculiar form. Thus the noblest nurture on the 
country's maternal bosom has been denied it, and it has 
been compelled to content itself, mostly by imitation, 
to counterfeit a superficial appearance of life. Now, 
though the German soul has laid up many a jewel in the 
borrowed forms, as in a precious casket, still no work of 
art can be called perfect, in which the form has not been 
born and shaped from the material, the image from the 
animating idea. That art only thrives and kindles the 
hearts of men, which proceeds from love and necessity, 
offspring of Jove ; which is conceived in the love for the 
ideas, and in a profound impulse of nature, regulated by 
the severity of law and lovingly nurtured by outward life. 
But that the outward life, which, as has been shown 
before, excited the art of the ancients in such various 
ways, was unfolded in modern times, after a fashion less 
favorable to art, is partly to be ascribed to other causes, 
but chiefly to the change of religion. Here we can only 
touch upon the most essential points. The plastic sense of 
the Greeks was converted by Christianity into a mystical 
one. "While the Greek heathen deified the inner life of 
nature, and made this life, reverenced as divine, visible to 
the senses as well as to the soul, by a new creation, — in 
the Christian world, the contemplation of the Divine Being 
retired to the soul, and all earthly appearance paled in 



94 CLASSICAL STUDIES. 

the glory with which the new religion encompassed the 
only God of heaven and earth. By this new and more 
profound revelation, earth and life seemed to change their 
shape ; the former was converted into a vale of trial and 
sorrow; the enjoyment of the present was lost in the 
effort to become worthy of future and real life, or in the 
longing for death ; and, absorbed in the contemplation of 
the unfathomable, the spirit shunned, as far as possible, 
all that could enchain it to the life of form. It was no 
more the destiny of man to enjoy his existence on earth, 
but, mindful of the better, though forfeited country, to 
mourn over the earthly fetters that detained him in the 
prison-house of the flesh. Now, therefore, form, even in 
its perfected beauty, seemed only as a wall of separation 
from the recognition of the infinitely perfect, to a re-union 
with which, as to the object of unceasing longing, the 
overthrow of these earthly barriers led. The infinite beauty 
of a world, which transcended all conception, could only 
come forth from the annihilation of the finite form. The 
flowers of Paradise could only blossom from the ashes of 
the grave ; the liberated champion could only travel to his 
proper country through the triumphal arch of the tomb. 
Under the influences of a religion so spiritual, — and 
how mightily this influence worked in early times, is 
known, — plastic art, limited to austere forms, could thrive 
no more. Music, as the most spiritual interpreter of the 
ineffable, and, as it seemed, the least enchained by 
earthly fetters, soared away beyond all the arts; but 
poetry moulded itself anew, and, swallowed up in the 
infinity of mysticism, strove to utter, in new tones, the 
boundless longing after perfect holiness, the never-satiated 
astonishment at the incomprehensible, the profound scorn 
of the earthly, the ecstasy of devotion, and the compunction 
of remorse. Here was no place left for creative art, had 
the weakness of human nature been able to follow the 



PLASTIC ART OF THE GREEKS. 95 

steep and narrow path to the eternal, which the piety of 
the inspired fathers of the primitive church traced out 
before him. Meantime, human sentiment even here 
asserted its claims, and the love for the Divine Author of 
the religion came somewhat in aid of the natural wish of 
men, to cheat desire by the image of the desired object. 
But, in order to build itself up in this new-formed world, it 
must needs submit itself to new laws. To aim exclusively 
at beauty, like the Grecian sculptor, would have been 
profane. The first object Christian art had to aspire after, 
was instruction and significance; and, as painting can 
attain this end more easily and perfectly than plastic art, 
and as, besides, it works with more spiritual means, it 
soon became the favorite companion of Christianity, when 
Christianity gradually embodied itself in outward forms. 

Moreover, the political institutions of Christian nations, 
in modern times, have changed in a way not altogether 
favorable to plastic art. The visible community of the 
civic States has been more and more resolved into a 
spiritual and invisible one ; care for the preservation of 
the whole has been committed to the hands of a few ; the 
citizen trustfully yields the government of the State to 
the sovereign appointed him by God, and, exempt from 
public cares, pursues his inclination or his business. 
Therefore, as once the interest of public life was 
predominant, so now will be the interest of the domestic 
circle. Besides this, the greater extent of our States, the 
broader course of affairs, the altered state of education, 
produces a separation of the several powers, as well as of 
different ranks ; and that the whole may be more closely 
united under a single head, the parts must be more 
carefully distinguished. In Greece, the poet, the artist, 
the philosopher, were not divided from the general and 
the statesman ; the power of every one belonged, in every 
possible application, to the public life, and to the great 



96 CLASSICAL STUDIES. 

family of which he was a member ; and all lay united in 
so narrow a circle, that the duties of the outward calling 
either promoted the efforts of the inner, or but little 
disturbed them. Inasmuch, therefore, as the individual 
rays were concentrated and directed upon the whole 
there, as well as for similar reasons, in the free States of 
the middle ages, the greatest results could be effected in 
the State often by apparently trifling means. On the 
contrary, in the modern world, domestic and private life, 
to which religion, and in the north of Europe especially, 
the climate invites, has been by the constitution, also, 
carried to the highest perfection. As the Grecian adorns 
his native city, every man in the modern world adorns, 
as much as he can, his own home, and no disapprobation 
of his townsmen disturbs the harmless pleasure he 
takes in the bosom of his family, or the narrow circle 
of his friends, in a cheerful and handsomely ornamented 
residence. Hence art has also, in monarchic States, 
assumed, for the most part, a domestic character, and 
painting, therefore, in its various branches, has become 
the most favorite art of the modern world. 

This art, which thrives the more easily because it 
needs fewer appliances, and by the infinite variety of its 
objects is better adapted than any other to satisfy the 
most varied dispositions, seems to have been assigned to 
the modern world, instead of the costly embellishment of 
plastic art. This peculiar property it has therefore unfolded 
with zeal and success in all directions ; here, doubtless, will 
it, for the future, blend together the scattered rays of the 
love of art, which is stirring ever with more and more 
life in our country. And yet, perchance, in this so deeply 
excited age, the yet slumbering enthusiasm is only waiting 
the favorable moment for a new upward movement of plastic 
and every other species of art. If every one, who feels in 
his bosom the sparks of the Promethean fire, but seeks to 



PLASTIC ART OF THE GREEKS. 97 

find the proper calling of his nature, in order to obey the 
summons when the right time appears, then may we 
hope, that in our country, if no where else, every art will 
find its favorers, every effort of art, its supporters. But, in 
order to produce what shall satisfy future times by the 
indwelling spirit and external perfection, it is not enough 
to imitate what is already completed ; the age also asserts 
its right, and the character of the people. Every nation 
should undoubtedly be what it can most completely be, 
taking into view all the traits of its character. Modern 
times cannot run into antiquity; Germans cannot turn 
themselves into Greeks ; but for every age and every 
nation can that, which once existed in perfection, serve 
as a mirror, in which it may the better know itself. Thus, 
also, should all who are concerned with high culture, 
look into antiquity, in order there to seize the manly 
spirit, without which nothing great can thrive, and to 
know themselves by the comparison. They should 
educate themselves by antiquity, but not borrow from 
it; they should rival antiquity, in earnest effort, but 
not idly appropriate its treasures to themselves. 

If these wishes have any meaning, where could they 
better hope for fulfilment, than in this capital, where an 
inherited love of art is duly nurtured on the finest 
works, confirmed by noble institutions, and cherished 
and animated by the patronage of the most magnanimous 
of kings ; this generous and wise monarch, to whom 
every one applies, with joyous conviction, what a Roman 
says of Caesar Augustus, that he promoted with loving 
heart, not only the happiness of individuals, and the 
welfare of the State, but also the flowers of art, that the 
State may not only be enlarged by him with provinces, 
but the majesty of the kingdom may be enhanced 
by the sciences and the arts. May he, in whose 
honor we have here assembled to-day, long enjoy the 
9 



y» CLASSICAL STUDIES. 

harvest which his beneficence has sown ; may the olive- 
branch of peace long give coolness and shade to his 
exalted head, and his prospering people; and may the 
glad light of an inspiring joy, which the happiness of his 
illustrious son, the heir of his regal and domestic virtues, 
kindles on this delightful day in his paternal heart, 
encompass all his life with cheering brightness, down 
to the last moment, which is to remove him from this 
mortal state ; and may then a grateful posterity exclaim to 
each of his successors, Be as wise and beneficent, be as 
beloved and happy, as Maximilian Joseph. 



PHILOLOGICAL CORRESPONDENCE. 



PHILOLOGICAL CORRESPONDENCE. 



DAVID RUHNKEN TO JOHN DANIEL RITTER. 

Leyden, July 29, 1747. 

Whenever I think of you and your favors to me, — and 
I think of them very often, — I am vexed with myself, that 
I came away from Saxony without taking leave of you. 
But since this and other foibles of my youth have, as 
I hope, passed away, I feel assured they will not be 
treasured up against me, by any one, and, least of all, by 
you, whom I know to be the kindest of men. You will 
never see cause to regret having trained me as a disciple ; 
for I shall always cherish towards you sentiments of filial 
regard, and take pleasure in making your merits known 
to the learned of other nations. I have long been in 
doubt, whether to venerate your worth in silence, as 
heretofore, or to address you by letter. But my affection 
has overcome my modesty. 

I know very well that this correspondence will be 
no honor to you in Wittenberg; but, if I am not 
mistaken, it will afford you some pleasure, and be of some 
advantage. * * * 

I will now give you a brief sketch of what has transpired 
with me since I left you. No sooner had I arrived in 
Holland, — that nursery of men of learning, — than G. 



102 CLASSICAL STUDIES. 

Mcermann, a young man of superior talents, and an 
admirer of your productions, altogether unexpectedly 
made provision for me. He had perceived my ardent 
love for study; he therefore made me tutor to his younger 
brother. But this was not enough. He gave his parents 
such accounts of me, that his father took the place of 
father to me till his death ; and his mother is a mother to 
me to this very hour. Consequently, I spent nearly three 
years in directing the studies of Meermann, the younger 
brother, in the university of Leyden, and in hearing the 
lectures of distinguished professors. In the study of 
civil law, Schelting was my teacher; in history, and 
Roman antiquities, Francis Oudendorp ; in Greek 
literature, now my favorite study, John Alberti, and, most 
of all, that extraordinary man, Hemsterhuys. To have 
been permitted to enjoy the instructions and intimate 
acquaintance of this man, I regard as my highest felicity. 
With a mind almost superhuman, and an exhaustless 
store of learning, he, of himself, restores to the university 
of Leyden the splendor it had under Scaliger and 
Salmasius. On the expiration of this period of nearly 
three years, the excellent J. P. D'Orville invited me, on 
the most advantageous terms, to his house, where I still 
remain, engaged in my favorite pursuits. My Maecenas 
allows me to make an excursion nearly every week from 
Amsterdam to Leyden, to which I am attracted no 
less by the public library, than by the splendor of the 
university. * # * 

Our Dutch critics are very nice judges of the merits of 
others. Of the numerous throng of German philologists, 
only nine or ten are held in any reputation by them ; and 
I congratulate you, my dear Eitter, that you belong to 
that small number. No class of men are held in greater 
detestation here, than those shameless compilers, who, 
though they say some useful things, are led, for the sake 



ruhnken's correspondence. 103 

of making a book, to fill out their pages with common- 
places which the veriest blockhead knows. How often 
are these German luminaries, as they are called in their 
own country, the subject of merriment with Wesseling, 
Alberti, Wetstein, myself, and others. I wish you could 
be present to enjoy the fun. 

RUHNKEN TO RITTER. 

Leyden, Dec. 8, 1760. 
You have probably learned, from the letters of Ernesti, 
that I have left no stone unturned to remove you 
from unhappy Saxony into our happy Batavia. After 
experiencing successive frowns of fortune upon my 
attempts, I have now the inexpressible happiness of 
finding an opportunity for consummating my wishes. 
Andrew Weiss, a distinguished professor of law, who, for 
fifteen years, has adorned the university with his genius 
and learning, was invited the last year, by the authorities 
at the Hague, to become the teacher of the Prince of 
Orange. Though other candidates were recommended 
for the vacant professorship, yet, aided by the influence of 
Hemsterhuys, Gaub, and Alberti, I have so far succeeded 
in recommending you, as to render it no longer doubtful 
that the curators would appoint you, if they could be 
assured of your acceptance. * * * 

RITHNKEN TO RITTER. 

Leyden, Jan. 12, 1761. 

I wish that you might be as successful in accomplishing 
all your desires, as I have been in whatever I have 
undertaken in your behalf. All your competitors have 
failed ; one of whom, supported by the favor of a great 
sovereign, had regarded his success as already certain. 
The votes in your favor were unanimous. Still, the 
official notice will hardly be communicated to you 



104 CLASSICAL STUDIES. 

before the first of February; for the curators are not 
accustomed to have any thing of importance pass, except 
at the stated meetings, the first of which will take place on 
the day above-mentioned. I am very happy that you are 
satisfied with the terms. I know not how to express my 
joy, that you, at length, have become ours. As you seem 
to entertain some doubt in regard to the emoluments and 
perquisites, I will go through the calculation. The salary 
is 2000 florins. The tuition for a course of lectures, — 
none of which are public, — being thirty florins for each 
student, will amount to about 1300; but this will vary 
with the number of students. The other items are much 
more certain. Promotions to the degree of doctor, which 
occur almost every week, will bring you 1400 florins. 
Exemption from taxes is worth at least 300. All these 
together, make, as I said, 5000 florins. In this estimate, I 
have omitted several smaller perquisites, which, however, 
deserve consideration. Professor Weiss testifies to the 
correctness of the estimate. I now proceed to reply to 
your particular inquiries separately. 

1. All public lectures are held in Latin; private 
instruction is sometimes given in French. I recommend 
to you to make it your first business to acquire a facility 
in speaking the French. You may converse in this 
language with the English, French, and most of the 
Swiss, all of whom, though they understand the Latin, 
are unable to speak a word. All persons of rank, too, 
male and female, speak French in preference to the 
Dutch. Most of the professors are acquainted with the 
German, but not many individuals in the higher circles. 
No lectures are given in this language. 

2. The public law of Germany, according to Mascovius, 
is taught only when there are several German noblemen 
here. At other times, Otto's Notitia is explained, as being 
better adapted to the wants of the Dutch. 



rtthnken's correspondence. 105 

3. You are not called to pay a farthing by way of 
taxes ; for, as I have said above, the university enjoys a 
complete exemption. So you can drink your wine cheap, 
while it comes very dear to other citizens. 

4. A house is commonly rented by the professors, for 
about 500 florins. The services of a waiting-maid are 
from sixty to seventy ; but when she receives something 
from the students, as yours will, the cost is only from 
forty to fifty. 

5. Though you will find more teachers in painting, 
singing, and dancing, in Leyden than in Wittenberg, 
still, the charge for twenty lessons, is not less than eight 
or nine florins. 

6. The style of dress among the professors is simple, 
and is commonly in black. The more illustrious one is 
in this country, and the greater the influence which he 
exerts, the more simple is his style of dress. But the 
servants glitter in gold and silver ; houses are splendid, 
and entertainments princely. 

7. The professors' wives are generally modest and 
domestic. If, however, any one desires to appear in 
public, and visit the theatres, she can gratify her tastes. 
The dress of these matrons is not splendid, but is 
extremely neat. You know, perhaps, that all Dutch 
women run mad after neatness. 

8. A governess for daughters can be obtained here for 
200 florins ; but you will need none, as there are French 
schools, in which the daughters of noblemen are educated 
in all the branches of polite learning. 

9. I would advise you to let rather than sell your 
house at present. If you wait till peace, you can then 
sell it on better terms, through an agent. Nor will it be 
necessary to sell your library, or any of your valuable 
articles of furniture. These may all, with the greatest 
convenience, be transported to Hamburg, and thence to 



106 CLASSICAL STUDIES. 

Amsterdam and Leyden by water. There is no occasion 
for anxiety about the expense of your removal ; for, as I 
wrote you, the curators Avill more than make it good. 

10. Houses are always rented in Leyden without 
furniture ; but it will be easy to hire the latter separately. 
Beds, bedding, looking-glasses, etc., you can transport 
with you. Your pewter ware, on account of its weight, 
it would be better to dispose of at Wittenberg, especially 
as it can be replaced here at a very cheap rate. Nearly 
all the articles pertaining to the table here are pewter ; 
they are very rarely porcelain. 

Your title will be Professor Juris Public! et Privati ; 
not that you will, as I could wish, teach the latter, but 
that you can examine candidates in that branch of the 
law. For writing books you will have more leisure than 
you can easily imagine ; for the term of study amounts 
to only seven months and a half in all. The longer 
vacation commences near the end of June, and continues 
till the 17th of September, during which you can make 
an excursion into France or England, or visit your Saxon 
friends. 

Leyden, Dec. 18, 1761. 
0, Hitter ! what have the curators, those respectable 
and honorable men, done, that you should so deceive 
them, or trifle with them? And I, of whose upright 
intentions God is witness, what have I done to deserve to 
be so treated ? * * Blinded by the fascinations of your 
wife, you are plunging yourself into ruin. * * * 

RTTHNKEN TO D'oRVILLE. 

Leyden, Aug. 21, 1747. 
I have quite too long deferred writing to you, or rather 
expressing my gratitude to you. But so far am I from 
forgetting the favors you have conferred upon me, I 



rtthnken's correspondence. 107 

would gladly find a daily occasion to show you how 
sensibly I feel my obligations. While considering what 
token of regard I might present you, Brissonius occurred 
to my mind, which had been emended in part, but was 
committed to my hands to be finished. Accept, therefore, 
this copy as a present, corresponding not to your favors, 
but to my limited means. * * Having nothing else to do, 
I employ all my time in examining the old manuscripts 
of the library, an employment as profitable to my mind as 
it is ruinous to my purse. Since you were kind enough 
to promise never to withhold your aid from me, when it 
should be needed, I take the liberty to request you, if you 
judge it expedient, to give me something else to collate 
or copy for you. * * * 

RUHNKEN TO D'ORVILLE. 

Leyden, Oct. 29, 1747. 
Although I cherish sentiments of the warmest gratitude 
towards you for your almost royal munificence to me, 
yet as often as I am loaded anew with your favors, I feel 
provoked, to think that I have no better way of showing 
my gratitude by rendering you some service. There is 
no labor which I would not cheerfully undergo, if I might 
thereby be of any use to you. Were you not at this time 
too much engaged in your business, I would submit to your 
practised eye a specimen of emendations to Callimachus, 
a poet corrupted by false readings and interpolations far 
beyond what is commonly supposed. At some future 
time, when you are more at leisure, I will, if you have no 
objections, ask your opinion in regard to this subject. * * 

RUHNKEN TO J. A. ERNESTI. 

Leyden ; Nov. 28, 1751. 
Whenever I think of you, — and I do so very often, — 
I am ashamed that I have not as yet been able to publish 



10S CLASSICAL STUDIES. 

the expression of my regard for you. When we had 
nearly finished printing Callimachus, a new obstacle was 
presented. My friends were of opinion that the book 
would be too small, — its form would not be good. I 
was, therefore, persuaded to add my Apollonius, the 
contemporary of Callimachus, which I had reserved for 
a third small volume. Still, if I do not get the book out 
by January, you may never believe me again. * * 

KUHNKEN TO ERNESTI. 

Leyden, Jan. 28, 1752. 

Accept, as a token of my regard for you, this small 
volume with the same cordiality with which it was 
dedicated to you. Several other copies will reach you 
by another conveyance, which you can, if you choose, 
distribute to your friends. I have requested Professor 
Bach to review it in the Acta Eruditorum. * * * High 
expectations are raised in respect to your Callimachus. 
If Hemsterhuys were to see a copy of it as finished by 
yourself, he might contribute his observations on such 
passages as you may have passed over. No one has 
collected more fragments, especially from the inedited 
grammarians, than Valckenaer. I have some observations 
which I will now communicate. * * * 

RUHNKEN TO ERNESTI. 

Paris, Feb. 1, 1755. 

On the eve of my departure from Holland, I received 
from you two letters of nearly the same date. The 
catalogue of Bonier 's library, which you sent, was 
particularly welcome. I wish you would purchase for 
me, at such prices as you shall think proper, the 
following. * * * I have now been several months in 
France, examining libraries both public and private. Nor 
do I regret the expensive journey; for I can assure you, 



rithnken's correspondence. 109 

my dear Ernesti, that if God spares my life, this journey 
will be of great service to Greek literature, and to ancient 
learning in general. * * I shall return to Holland early 
in the summer. Do not publish your Callimachus before 
that time ; for I know not of any suitable person to 
superintend the printing. * * When shall we see the 
new edition of your Clavis to Cicero ? The French 
scholars are very desirous of this work. I am surprised 
that your booksellers have so little intercourse with 
France. Not a single copy of your Suetonius or Tacitus 
has found its way here, a circumstance which the learned 
gentlemen of the Academy very much lament. # * 

RUHNKEN TO ERNESTI. 

Leyden, June 24, 1756.. 
I heartily congratulate you on the honors which you 
have received in your own country ; and only fear that 
an increase of duties will prevent you from finishing your 
Callimachus the present year. Spanheim's commentary 
will, in the mean time, be put to press. Hemsterhuys 
agrees with me in opinion about adding other fragments 
to Bentley's. He thinks it would be inexpedient to reprint 
the uncritical and useless notes of Voetius. Frischlin's 
Annotations, although they will hardly bear the scrutiny 
of this age, may, if you see no particular objections, as 
well be inserted, on account of the frequent reference to 
them by Spanheim and others. As so much space 
will be left for you, I beg you give scope to your 
fertile genius, and do something handsome, not only for 
Callimachus, but for all the ancient Greek authors. 
Indulge that golden eloquence you possess, that, hereafter, 
other commentators may make you their model. Let 
those write short notes whose materials are scanty.. 
From you, whose genius and learning we know to have 
embraced all antiquity, we expect nothing less than such 
10 



110 CLASSICAL STUDIES. 

discussions as you appended to your Suetonius. * * * 
Alberti has recovered his health, and sends his regards. 
Hemsterhuys also wishes a remembrance. Dissatisfied 
with his youthful labors on Pollux, he has returned to 
this grammarian, and written a large commentary on 
him, to be published separately, in which he has poured 
out all the treasures of his learning, Although nothing 
is wanting to its perfection, still he cannot keep his hand 
from retouching it. * * The Dutch think of drawing me 
out before the public. But of this more hereafter. * * 

RUHNKEN TO ERNESTI. 

Leyden, March 8, 1757. 

I am greatly distressed at the calamities which are 
befalling Saxony; and feel keenly both for you and for 
Ritter. I should not think it strange, if, in your troubles, 
you should forget not only Callimachus, but me, too. 
You can easily imagine, from my love to you, how 
anxious I am to hear something of your present situation. 
If you can write but three words, it would greatly oblige 
me. 

A peaceful haven, and one long desired, is at length 
ready to receive me. Last month, the curators of the 
Leyden university, at the suggestion of Hemsterhuys, 
appointed me professor of Greek literature, with an ample 
support. My great teacher will henceforth, on account 
of advancing age, surrender to me this department of 
instruction, and confine himself to history. * * * To 
Heusinger, whom you so warmly recommended to me, I 
wrote in the most respectful manner, and he has not 
deigned to reply. I should like to know why he does not 
write. From Fischer, who is his friend, you can easily 
learn the cause of his silence. I will write more after 
receiving your letter. Meantime, farewell, my dearest 
friend. Please make my respects to Professor Bach. 



ruhnken's correspondence. Ill 



RUHNKEN TO ERNESTI. 

Leyden, July 18, 1758. 

If ever any thing was welcome to me, your observations 
on Callimachus were so ; in reading which, again and 
again, I have passed very many agreeable days with 
Hemsterhuys, every where admiring the acuteness of 
judgment, the exuberance of exquisite learning, and the 
elegance of composition. If no other monument of your 
genius were to exist, this, alone, would render your name 
immortal. Hemsterhuys is no less pleased with it than 
myself. Indeed, he was often gratified to perceive that 
you had fallen, as if by concert, upon the same train of 
thought with himself. The more excellent, therefore, 
your work is, the greater pains Ave have thought ought to 
be taken with it, that not the least defect should be left to 
mar its beauty. You will find our criticisms in the 
accompanying papers, which, if I am not mistaken, will 
give you ample means for emendation and discussion. I 
shall anxiously await your " second thoughts," in which 
you may enlarge or correct your previous observations ; 
and, having received them, I will carefully insert them in 
their proper places. For it would be better that they 
should be interwoven with the others, than appended to 
them. You have, in your notes, shown yourself very 
courteous towards other scholars, and too much so 
towards me. You have attributed too much to me for 
the few passages which I pointed out. As I am not 
fond of making much ado about nothing, I have, in 
many places, stricken out my name. In such matters, I 
have nothing to gain or to lose. But for you, who are 
the editor, no fault is too insignificant to be noticed. I 
could wish, if your circumstances should permit, that 
you would add one dissertation or more, respecting the 
Pelagones, for example, of whom much is yet to be said. 



112 CLASSICAL STUDIES. 

Whenever you undertake to treat of a topic at large, 
you seem to me particularly to excel. 



C. G. HEYNE TO J. A. ERNESTI. 

Dresden, Dec. 16, 17G2. 

I present you my most hearty thanks for the trouble 
you have taken in bringing this proposal before me, and 
regard it as not the least affecting of the singular events, 
which conspire in this case, that it comes to me through 
you, whom I most honor of my former teachers, and to 
whom I am most indebted. 

As to the matter itself, there are many considerations 
for it, and many against it. The more I reflect upon it, 
the more difficulties I perceive. But when I look at the 
prospects here, both those which relate to the public in 
general, and those which relate to me in particular, I 
feel persuaded that I cannot disregard this indication of 
Providence, without exposing myself to future self- 
reproach. 

The place of librarian to the King and to the Count, 
which I now occupy, compels me to a life to which I am 
totally averse. I live in the midst of intrigues and cabals, 
which prevail here as much in the lowest circles as in the 
highest, and in which one must either participate, and be 
the oppressor, or submit to be the oppressed. 

Such a life must be as unfavorable to study, as it is to 
personal happiness. This consideration, together with 
my peculiar tastes, induces me to follow the call of 
Providence in the present instance, notwithstanding I 
hereby surrender the fruit of my ten years' expectation 
and patient suffering, and the additional fact, that I have 
now become unaccustomed to academic life. To your 
first question, then, I give an affirmative answer. I am 
resolved to accept the call with which the minister has 
honored me. 



ruhnken's correspondence. 113 

In regard to the second question, I am far from being 
disposed to chaffer. But since my support here, if I 
succeed in my present expectations, will be 700 rix 
dollars, I may justly consider myself as entitled to a 
salary of 800 ; so much the more, as, in consequence of 
my loss in the Dresden fire, I am obliged to furnish my 
house anew. My circumstances, therefore, require, also, 
100 or 200 rix dollars for the expense of removal. I 
believe the lamented Gesner had the charge of the 
university library. The loss of my books, and my having 
been long accustomed to libraries, render it important to 
me to succeed him in this office. 

I am not blind to the importance of the place to which 
I have been designated, nor of the splendor which my 
predecessor has given to it. I honestly confess to you, 
that since the fire, in which I saw all the avails of many 
years' labor perish, I have directed my attention, — Plato 
alone excepted, — wholly to moral philosophy, and to 
English literature. But I may, without immodesty, hope 
in a short time to feel at home again in ancient literature, 
and to advance with redoubled energy. * * * 

RUHNKEN TO C G. HEYNE. 

Leyden, July 14, 1763. 

It gave me the greatest pleasure to learn that my 
recommendation had so much influence with his 
excellency, Munchhausen, as to procure for you a place, 
distinguished of itself, but the more so from the lustre 
Gesner for many years gave it. And yet I do not so 
much congratulate you, as I do the cause of good 
learning, that it has found in you an unexpected support. 
Would that the German youth might so understand their 
true interests, as to abandon metaphysical subtleties, and 
drink at the fountains of sound learning which you shall 
open to them. I beg you to favor me with your inaugural 
10* 



114 CLASSICAL STUDIES. 

address, which you have undoubtedly delivered before 
this time, and any thing else which you may have 
published, either in your own name, or in that of the 
university. If I publish any thing of the kind, I Avill send 
you a copy. 

RUHNKEN TO HEYNE. 

Leyden, July 13, 1764. 

I have received the kind and affectionate letter, in which 
you say you are turning your attention from Apollonius 
Rhodius to Virgil. I have often censured the German 
booksellers, that they no sooner find an excellent scholar 
of their own country, than they engage him, not leaving 
him to his own judgment about publishing, but, by 
entreaty, or by money, bringing him into subjection to 
themselves. Hence it sometimes happens, that works are 
published which are unworthy of their authors. Gesner, 
for example, if he had followed his own judgment, instead 
of that of Fritsch, would have given us a beautiful and 
perfect edition of Horace. But, as it now is, the book is 
a slender production, by no means corresponding to the 
author's fame. Think of the haste with which it was 
printed ; so great, that whole lines have been omitted. I 
think that your admirable talent is equal to the work of 
correcting the text of Virgil, and that you cannot apply 
your powers to a worthier object. * * I have just been 
reading the Lives of Philologists, by Harles, and, after 
going through with those of Burmann, Klotz, and Saxius, 
I congratulated myself, that when the author requested me 
to furnish him with the materials for my biography, I had 
the discretion to make no reply. * * At the sale of 
Gesner's library, if it is not too much trouble, have the 
goodness to bid off for me, and my colleague, Schultens, 
the books marked in the catalogue, at such prices as you 
shall judge expedient. But those marked N. B., I wish 
you to obtain, whatever they may cost. # * # 



rtjhnken's correspondence. 115 



RUHNKEN TO HEYNE. 

Leyden, Feb. 21, 1765. 
The box of books reached me in safety. The business 
could not have been done better than it has been done by 
you. I regret that the Dissertations of Berger have been 
taken away from me ; for I had advised our booksellers, 
on account of the delay of those in Germany, to reprint 
them, together with his Formulas. But perhaps this loss 
can be made up from the sale of Heumann's library, the 
catalogue of which I earnestly desire you to send me. 
The money due for the books I have not transmitted to 
the Cliffords, because I did not doubt but that you would 
wish some portions of the library of Wesseling, which is 
to be sold here in the spring. The pay can be adjusted 
then. I will send you a catalogue as early as possible. 
I have read your eulogy of Heumann with great pleasure, 
both on account of the elegance of the composition, and 
your skill in the treatment of the subject. I have long 
been seeking, but without success, for the eulogy upon 
Gesner by Michaelis. Perhaps you may have a copy 
which you can send me. * * While I think of it, I will 
inquire whether there is any hope that the transactions of 
the Academy of Sciences will be continued. If not, then 
you ought to publish separately, Gesner's discourses 
delivered before the Academy, in which that distinguished 
man excelled even himself. # # * 

RTJHNKEN TO HEYNE. 

Leyden, Oct. 13, 1765. 

I know not why it is, that you, who formerly wrote me 
so often, have all at once broken off, as if you had 
forgotten me. May the reason of your long silence be 
any thing rather than ill health. I sent you a catalogue 
of Wesseling's library, hoping, by this means, to elicit a 



116 CLASSICAL STUDIES. 

letter from you. But I have received from you no list of 
books to be purchased, though it was agreed that I should 
balance my account with you in this manner. * * In 
the summer vacation, I made so many emendations in 
Velleius Paterculus, that I hope to be able to give a better 
edition than any now before the public. But I must first 
search the public libraries, and ascertain whether there 
are any manuscripts to be had. I have been diverted 
from the Greek to the Latin authors, by the reproaches 
of the younger Burmann and others, who, while they 
admit that I understand Greek, deny that I have a similar 
knowledge of Latin. But they shall learn, to their 
cost, that I have always combined the study of the two 
languages. * * * 

RUHNKEN TO HEYNE. 

Leyden, Dec. 25, 1766. 
Though, on account of my numerous engagements, I 
write to you less frequently than I could wish, no day 
passes without my thinking of you, or speaking of you 
with my literary friends. Nothing appears more desirable 
to all of them than that, freed from the embarrassments 
of which you complain, you should be able to devote 
yourself wholly to the illustration of the Latin and Greek 
classics, for which you are happily formed by nature and 
by excellent discipline. But consider, I entreat you, my 
dear Heyne, whether you do not sometimes undertake 
more than is necessary. All the essays you have sent me 
are equally excellent; but, if I mistake not, you might -write 
fewer. Why prepare elaborate biographical notices of 
such men as Heumann and Heilmann, whom it interests 
neither the present generation, nor posterity, to know 
very particularly? I am sorry, too, that you should have 
mentioned Bentley in the place in which you speak of 
Heumann's boldness, which was coupled with equal 



ruhnken's correspondence. 117 

ignorance. They are totally different men. Heumann 
is the dullest of critics, whereas Bentley is the most 
felicitous and elegant of any that I have ever known. 
You will find the remark of Hemsterhuys, — himself the 
most like Bentley, — to be true, namely, " though Bentley 
alters many passages which ought not to be altered, in 
most cases, the writers would have done better if they 
had written as he corrects them."(?) 

RUHNEEN TO HEYNE. 

Leyden, Dec. 27, 1769. 
Your friendship for me manifests itself every way. 
You are not only one of my warmest friends yourself, 
but you conciliate for me the good-will of others, and 
among the rest that of Wyttenbach, a young man of 
great promise, whose critical epistle on Julian evinces 
such talent, that we may safely augur well of his future 
eminence. He has not reached Leyden, as he had 
designed, but is detained for a time by the state of his 
domestic affairs. He expects, however, to be here early 
in the spring, and to pursue his studies under Valckenaer 
and myself. I have induced him to give up Julian, to 
whose writings he was accidently attached, and have 
recommended him to bestow the study of his whole life 
upon Plutarch, a far better writer, which he has resolved 
to do. 

RUHNKEN TO KANT. 

Leyden, March 10, 1771. 
It is now thirty years since we were under the rigid 
but not unprofitable discipline of the Pietists in the 
gymnasium at Konigsberg. Even then it was believed 
that you might rise to the greatest eminence, if you 
should apply yourself to uninterrupted study. I need 
not say that the expectation then raised has been met by 



IIS CLASSICAL STUDIES. 

you, who have so far exceeded it as to throw all other 
German philosophers into the shade. So much the more 
agreeable was it to me to learn through our common 
friend Wilkes, that you had not, in this long interval, 
entirely forgotten me. I also have often thought of you, 
my dear Kant, and should have done so still oftener, if I 
had been able, as I have a hundred times desired, to 
obtain the products of your genius. But your German 
writings are rarely or never brought to Holland. I have 
learned through the journals, the contents of your books, 
and have rejoiced in the commendations bestowed on 
you. * * * Certainly, in adopting the German language, 
instead of the common language of the learned, you have 
consulted neither your fame, nor the benefit of foreigners. 

* * * After leaving Konigsberg, I went to Wittenberg, 
where I studied philosophy and elegant literature two 
years. I then came to Holland, with the design of 
remaining three years in the Leyden university, and then 
returning to my country. But finding here such scholars 
as I never expected to meet with any where, I could not 
be prevailed on to leave them, either by the entreaties or 
by the threats of my parents. I remained, therefore, eight 
years in Leyden, except one year, when I was in Paris. 

* * * At length I received the reward of my toil; 
for the curators of the university made me, first, professor 
extraordinarius of Greek, and then, ordinary professor of 
eloquence and history, to which the office of librarian has 
recently been added. In short, Holland has so loaded 
me with benefits, that I have not only almost forgotten 
my native Pomerania, but I even declined the place of 
Gesner, which the curators of the Gottingen university 
offered me. Meanwhile, I have edited and explained not 
a few Greek and Latin authors, which have procured me 
some fame in Holland and England, but which perhaps are 
not known at all in Prussia. Yet I have never abandoned 



ruhnken's correspondence. 119 

entirely the study of philosophy to which I was most 
ardently attached in my youth. The study of antiquity, 
however, has led me to Plato, in whose doctrines I 
cordially acquiesce. 

I have seen the Observations on the New Testament 
by Kypke, who was our fellow-student. There was great 
emulation between him and me. He was a precocious 
genius, and gave promise of future eminence. These 
observations are, as I think, first-rate. I have never 
heard from Porsch, another fellow-student, who used to 
write Latin poetry with such wonderful facility. I fear 
he found an early grave. 

ETJHNKEN TO THOMAS TYRWHITT. 

Leyden, Jan. 8, 1783. 

I should not have delayed so long to express to you 
how much pleasure your book gave me, but for the 
resolution I had formed to pay you in the same coin. 
I send you, therefore, a new edition of the Homeric 
Hymn, with critical epistles twice as large as before. 
I have the less occasion to mention the merits of 
your treatise De Lapidibus, as I shall soon speak of 
that publicly, in the Bibliotheca Critica, with some 
emendations which may have escaped your notice. This 
journal is edited at Amsterdam by some of my disciples, 
whose articles I revise ; but I rarely write myself, except 
when some work, like yours, invites me by its excellence. 
I am very anxious to know what you are now doing. I 
wish you would employ your admirable talents in editing 
Stobseus. 

ETJHNKEN TO JOHN HENRY VOSS. 

Leyden, Aug. 28, 1780. 
I was surprised on reading your letter, and turned 
immediately to Matthaei's copy which I had happened 



120 CLASSICAL STUDIES. 

to preserve, to see whether the lines were omitted by 
my mistake or by his. On examination of the copy, it 
appeared, that the learned gentleman, in his zeal to aid 
me, was in too great a hurry, and fell into this great 
blunder. Mortified at the discovery of such an error, 
I resolved to publish a new and much more complete 
edition of the hymn to Ceres, and thus efface the memory 
of the first. I have, therefore, this day written to Matthaei, 
requesting him to compare the text carefully with the 
Moscow manuscript, and mark all the variations, and 
supply the lines accidentally omitted. To give the new 
edition still greater advantage over the former, I intend 
to remove a ground of frequent complaints among my 
friends, by adding a Latin translation. It would be a 
great favor to me, if you, wbo have already acquired such 
reputation by your translations of Homer, would undertake 
this service. My engagements are so numerous, that I 
cannot find the necessary leisure. Please to give me an 
early reply. * * I am very happy that this circumstance 
has introduced me to your acquaintance ; and now I 
earnestly desire you would give me a full account of 
your life, where you were born, under what masters you 
studied, and what you are preparing for publication. No 
man living has a stronger desire to aid in providing 
means to emend and illustrate the Greek and Latin 
classics, such men as I know you to be. Will you also 
inform me in what studies you take most pleasure ? 

J. H. VOSS TO RUHNKEN. 

Otterndorf, Sept 23, 1780. 

It gave me, respected sir, the highest pleasure to learn, 
that you were not displeased at my obtruding upon 
your attention Matthaei's omission of several lines in the 
Homeric Hymn ; but, on the contrary, that you received 
my intimation with the greatest kindness and benignity. 



rtjhnken's correspondence. 121 

You request me to give you an account of my life, as if 
it were worthy of your notice ; and, to show that you do 
not wish merely to gratify me by a friendly curiosity, 
you offer to aid me with the stores of your learning, and 
propose to me the task of preparing a Latin version, to 
accompany your new edition of the Hymn. To such 
kindness towards me I cannot refuse to yield, though I 
shall make but a poor requital. 

My native place is Penzlin, a small town in Mecklenburg. 
In consequence of the calamities of war, my parents had 
destined me to the workshop. At length I prevailed on 
them, when I was fifteen years of age, to let me attend the 
Latin school at New Brandenburg, to lay the foundation 
of a liberal education. I had a teacher who thought he 
had performed all his duty in Greek, when he had taught 
select passages in the New Testament. But I had such 
a desire for reading those authors rejected as profane, 
that, with the greatest effort, I studied by myself the first 
that came in my way, namely, Plutarch on the Education 
of Boys, and Hesiod's Works and Days. Three years 
afterwards, when want of funds prevented me from 
proceeding with my studies, I became a private teacher 
in the family of a country gentleman, where I remained 
for a period of three years more. I next made myself 
known, by some verses with which I was accustomed to 
relieve the tedious hours, to Professor Boje, of Gottingen, 
by whose efficient aid I was enabled to escape from a 
state of idleness. I went to Gottingen, the seat of the 
severer muses, at his invitation, in the spring of 1772,. 
where, it is unnecessary to say, I availed myself as far as 
possible of the instructions of Heyne, and of the extensive 
library of the university. From the first lectures, which 
scorned to treat of the elements of grammar, I could 
derive but little benefit, on account of my want of proper 
preparation for so high a course of instruction. Having 
11 



122 CLASSICAL STUDIES. 

acquired by degrees more confidence in myself, I 
presented Heyne a German translation of some of 
Pindar's odes, and thereby stimulated him to prepare an 
edition of that author, and to deliver lectures on his odes. 
The dissertations which I wrote, on becoming a member 
of his Philological Seminary, defending, against Heyne's 
assaults, some just, or at least ingenious, observations of 
the ancient commentators on Pindar, were my gleanings 
from the harvest of that poet. Two years passed away 
with me in such pursuits, at the expiration of which, I 
was seized with a severe illness, which confined me to 
private reading, and to my physician's care for a whole 
year. By his advice I removed to Wandsbeck, near 
Hamburg, for a change of climate, where I supported 
myself by editing a poetical anthology, called the 
Calendar of the Muses. You smile. Was it not 
allowable in me, to append a few verses of cheerful song 
to the astronomical tables, the genealogies of princes, 
market-days, agriculture, and rules for preserving health 
and for putting bedbugs to flight? In the year 1777, 
I married the sister of Boje, the friend and benefactor, 
who was the means of my going to Gottingen ; and the 
year following I accepted, in the hope of something better, 
the office of rector of the gymnasium of Otterndorf. But 
enough of my personal history, which I would relate to 
none but you. 

You inquire what I am preparing for the press. I 
have made, or rather commenced, a German translation 
of the Odyssey, with a commentary, in which I have done 
my utmost to illustrate the manners, arts, and religious 
rites, and geographical and astronomical views of the 
ancient Greeks. Grammatical niceties, which have been 
overlooked or misunderstood by others, I have reserved 
for a distinct Latin publication. The design of editing 
the Odyssey has been relinquished, on account of the 



ruhnken's correspondence. 123 

want of proper helps, and a feeling of my own inability, 
and the high expectations entertained of an edition 
preparing, under better auspices, by Villoison. 

Were it not for the great distance . that separates us, 
you would learn to your cost how indiscreet you were in 
opening to me the stores of your copious and exquisite 
learning. As it is, I shall be content, if I shall be allowed, 
now and then, to pay my respects by letter, and ask your 
advice in my affairs. The Latin version which you 
desire, I eagerly seize the chance, not " take the trouble," 
of executing. With all the diligence and care which my 
engagements in my school will allow, I will endeavor to 
render the translation not altogether unworthy of you as 
the editor, and of me, too, if indeed I seem to give promise 
of future eminence. 

RUHNKEN TO F. A. WOLF. 

Leyden, Aug. 3, 1795. 

How highly I estimate your talents and scholarship, 
you know from Spalding. When he was in Leyden, I 
talked so frequently with him about you, that he must 
have seen that no man's authority was greater with me 
than yours. Afterwards, also, knowing how meagre 
the salaries of the Halle professors were, I thought of 
effecting your removal to Holland. Even now, in the 
confused state of our public affairs, I should be of the 
same mind, if I could learn that the proposal would be 
agreeable to you. Such being the case, you will inquire 
why I have made no reply to the three letters, which you 
mention, accompanied, too, with presents from you. I 
can only say, both the letters and the books miscarried. 
As yet, your Demosthenes only, with a very kind letter, has 
reached me. But I was then suffering from a rheumatic 
affection in the hand ; and, although my health was 
otherwise good, I was often unable to prosecute my 



124 CLASSICAL STUDIES. 

studies, particularly those which required the use of the 
right hand. As I was unable to write myself, I directed 
Wyttenbach, the best of my pupils, to express to you my 
thanks, and to assure you of the high gratification which 
your Demosthenes afforded me. If he failed to do as he 
was requested, he was undutiful. What, then, suppose 
you, were my feelings, when I saw such honorable 
mention of my name in your Homer ? I was surprised 
at your forbearance and generosity, in not renouncing my 
friendship, as you might properly have done. I shall 
do all in my power that you may never have occasion 
to repent of your continued regard. I have read your 
Prolegomena again and again, with admiration of your 
copious and exact learning, and the consummate skill of 
your historical criticism. In respect to your argument 
to disprove the antiquity of the art of writing, I may say 
with the reader of Plato's Phaedo, mentioned by Cicero, 
" while I am reading, I assent ; but when I lay the book 
aside, my assent almost entirely vanishes." But of this 
another time. 

EUHNKEN TO WOLF. 

Leyden, Oct. 9 ; 1796. 
To your inquiries I reply. House-rent is higher in 
Leyden than it is, according to your account, in Halle. 
A house suitable for a professor cannot be rented for less 
than 400 florins. The price of other things, though, on 
account of the war, it is now very high, will, in time of 
peace, vary but little from what it is in Germany. At 
least, I have, for many years, supported a family of six 
persons on 3000 florins. The professors pay now the 
same taxes as the other citizens. The extraordinary 
contributions have already ceased, as we hope. The 
office of rector, from which no professor has hitherto been 
exempted, will not devolve upon you within eight or nine 



wyttenbach's correspondence. 125 

years. From the duties of assessor, you can, on account 
of your not knowing the Dutch language, easily be 
released. But these, like many other things, will soon 
be changed. For it is the intention of the Convention of 
Holland to abolish all the smaller universities, and to 
elevate Leyden to a state of great splendor, with an 
increase of the salaries of the professors. Meantime, I 
advise you, in your reply to the proposals of the curators, 
which they are daily expecting, to accept the appointment, 
on condition that the salary be raised 1000 florins. This 
will, indeed, be a greater amount than any one of us 
receives ; but you will certainly get it. The salary is 
paid from the day on which the inaugural address is 
pronounced. You would have received at once more 
favorable proposals, had not certain unfriendly persons 
at Gottingen attempted to prejudice the minds of men 
against you here, as they have done elsewhere. These 
calumnies were thoroughly put down by our friend 
Spalding, in his letter to me, which I have shown to the 
curators. But I hope soon to converse with you face to 
face on all these matters. 

D. WYTTENBACH TO WM. CLEAVER, BISHOP OF CHESTER. 

Leyden, July, 1800. 
Being under the necessity of writing to the delegates 
of the Clarendon press, I am induced to address myself 
particularly to you, by that kindness, and that learning 
which is celebrated in the common speech of men, but of 
which I have certain proof in your excellent book on 
Rhythm. Ever since the delegates took my Plutarch 
under their wing, I have made it my first aim to execute 
the work with such care and despatch, as to satisfy their 
wishes. But soon the calamitous war between England 
and Holland broke out, which is not yet terminated, and 
which first interrupted, and finally cut off all intercourse. 
11* 



126 CLASSICAL STUDIES. 

And yet, by the end of the year 1794, the whole of 
Plutarch's Morals, complete, as now publishing at Oxford, 
had reached the hands of the delegates. The remaining 
parts consisted of the fragments, the spurious treatises, 
my Annotations, and the indexes. In the preparation of 
these, I went on zealously, as long as there was any way 
of transmitting to you the manuscript. In the month of 
May, 1798, I had a portion all finished, when my friend, 
Ruhnken died, and I was interrupted in the midst of my 
course, by being called upon to settle his affairs. The 
Rev. Dr. John Randolph, who, from the beginning, 
corresponded with me on the part of the delegates, always 
urged me to transmit my manuscript as fast as I could get 
it in readiness, that the press might not be delayed. But 
the British ambassador at the Hague, to whom I had been 
accustomed to commit my papers, had now left the place, 
and I could not, as things were, think of sending by 
vessels, and committing to unsafe hands the labors of so 
many years. I replied, informing him of my readiness to 
send them as soon as he would point out a safe mode of 
conveyance. It was agreed that I should transmit them to 
a certain merchant at Hamburg, who would deliver them to 
Crawford, the British minister at that place. Accordingly, 
I put those parts which I had finished, into a box covered 
with pitch, and sent it to Mr. H. D. Rowohl, who wrote 
me soon after, that he had received it in good condition, 
and delivered it to his excellency, the British minister. 
I have never heard a syllable, either verbally or in 
writing, respecting its safe arrival in Oxford, though it 
was put into the hands of the minister at Hamburg, in 
November, 1798. While I was so distracted with my 
own business and that of others, that I knew not which 
way to turn, it became necessary, in consequence of my 
appointment as Ruhnken's successor, to remove from 
Amsterdam to Ley den. I did not fail, however, to write 



wyttenbach's correspondence. 127 

to Dr. Randolph, requesting him to inform me of the fate 
of my papers. But no reply came to me from England. 
That happy island " was more deaf to my cries than the 
rocks of the Icarian sea." Are we, then, so cut off from 
each other, by the sea and by war, that the letters which 
I write are given to the winds ? I have often thus 
soliloquized, "Cease" pressing Britain with thy letters, 
"for her deaf shores absorb thy cries." A few days ago, 
I heard that Dr. Randolph had been made bishop of 
Oxford. While I rejoice in his promotion, at the same 
time, my hope of getting an answer lessens, since, to his 
former occupations, others, both civil and ecclesiastical, 
will now be added. I beg you, therefore, reverend sir, to 
inform me, either by yourself, or through some other 
person, whether that box ever reached Dr. Randolph. If 
not, as I fear may be the case, let the delegates use all 
their influence with the minister at Hamburg, to make 
search for it. I beg you, let me not lose my four years' 
labor ; for I could not, in four years to come, replace it 
with equal completeness and accuracy. 

When I committed my Plutarch to your patronage, I 
did it, influenced by your great names, your reputation for 
learning and rank, and the splendor and influence of the 
Oxford university. I was not governed by a love of gain ; 
for I might have received more from another quarter. I 
entertained some fears respecting the safety of the papers 
which were to be transmitted, but none that the terms of 
agreement would not be adhered to. Do not, gentlemen 
delegates, make me suffer a pecuniary loss, in addition to 
the other troubles of the times. The engagement was, 
that I should receive a guinea a sheet, printed in the 
manner of Bryan's edition of Plutarch's Lives. But in 
our edition, in innumerable instances, a smaller type is 
used, and is to be retained through all the annotations, so 
as greatly to reduce the number of pages. It may be 



128 CLASSICAL STUDIES. 

well, thus to diminish the size of the book, but I suggest 
whether it would be right, also, to diminish the stipulated 
price. But, no doubt, the delegates will properly adjust 
the compensation, of their own accord. I will use all 
diligence to finish the annotations and indexes in such 
time, and to compress them into such a compass, that the 
execution shall be perfectly satisfactory to you. 



WYTTENBACH TO J. CLEAVER BANKS. 

Leyden, Aug. 25, 1801. 

Your letter, bearing date of May 29, has been received, 
and a few days earlier, the promised parcel of books 
arrived. There was so much kindness manifested in 
both, that I scarcely know which was the more grateful to 
my feelings. To your distinguished friends, Porson and 
Whiter, I owe the more gratitude, for their elegant 
presents, for having done nothing on my part to elicit 
such favors ; for the copy of my Life of Euhnken, which I 
had designated for Porson, was left behind, in your haste, 
so that he did not receive from me even that token of 
regard, though he was specially entitled to it. This 
man is not only a great ornament to Greek literature, 
himself, but he is a worthy successor of the former 
friends of my dear Euhnken, the Musgraves, Toups, and 
Tyrwhitts, whose various merits he so happily unites, as 
to exalt his own genius by the splendor of the most 
exquisite learning. I am surprised to find in him so 
much that is new on Euripides, after all the labors of 
other eminent critics, upon that poet. If there is any 
thing I desire, it is, that, for the sake of letters, he may 
have life and leisure sufficient to restore to purity the 
entire text of the tragedies of Euripides. I did not 
know that iEschylus had also been published, under 
the critical care of the same scholar, till I learned 



wyttenbach's correspondence. 129 

it a few days ago, from a German review of JEschylus, 
edited by Professor Schiitz, of Jena. * * * 

The young P. G. van Heusde, whom you saw at my 
house, and who is so devoted to Plato, has been spending 
a month or two in Paris. On his return, a few days 
since, I learned that our common friends, the great 
Grecians there, are all well. I deeply regret that you 
cannot follow your inclination, in visiting me this summer. 
Ever since I learned from the Bishop of Oxford, that my 
papers on Plutarch had reached him in safety, I have 
applied myself to the work of completing the remainder. 
But, though I make a great ado, but little is done. For 
the three following months, I finished my notes on two 
books, only; the one, upon Reading the Poets; the other, 
upon Hearing. The longer I live, the more certain I am 
that I know nothing. 

WYTTENBACH TO THOMAS GAISFORD. 

Leyden, Dec. 29, 1805. 
The regard which you have expressed for me, is very 
grateful to my feelings. I perceive in your letter, the 
evidence of your Greek scholarship, and think well of 
your method of study, as indicated by your design of 
editing Hephaestion. I hope you will so prepare this little 
treatise, as to make it a manual, from which scholars may 
derive great benefit, and obtain an accurate knowledge of 
number and measure. I will gladly furnish you, from 
our library, the aid which you ask, if I can find a suitable 
person to make the copy and the extracts. But this is the 
difficulty. For those who can, will not ; and those who 
will, cannot. Although my reply has long been delayed 
by a fruitless hope of finding one, I do not yet despair. 
But I was unwilling that you should be ignorant of these 
circumstances, as you might be in doubt in respect to my 
readiness to oblige you. The excerpts of Plutarch are of 



130 CLASSICAL STUDIES. 

such a character, that it will hardly be worth the while to 
copy the remainder. Be assured, my learned young 
friend, of my desire to render you all possible aid in your 
studies. 

WYTTENBACH TO GAISFORD. 

Leyden, July 8 ; 1815. 

I have long been indebted to you, my dear Gaisford, for 
a letter, and should have written before this, had it not 
been, entirely out of my power. Now that the vacation 
has commenced, I will employ what strength I have, in 
writing to you. Your letter, and box of books were duly 
received. Among the latter, were the copies of Plutarch, 
Falconer's Strabo, your own Hephaestion, your edition 
of the Minor Poets, and catalogues of the libraries of 
D'Orville and of Clarke. For these valuable and elegant 
presents, I beg you to accept for yourself, and to present 
to the other delegates, my hearty thanks. But your own 
books, my dear Gaisford, have particularly attracted my 
attention. From them I learn, for the first time, the 
greatness of your talents, and the extent of your learning. 
I was kept in ignorance in respect to them, by that 
protracted French tyranny, which suffered neither any of 
your books to reach us, nor even a traveller to visit us and 
give us information of you. But as soon as our public 
intercourse was restored, literary men from your country 
represented you as being the pillar of Greek learning in 
England, since the death of Porson ; and I perceived at 
once, on the examination of your works, that their decision 
was just. In order to assure you that I replied to your 
letter which you wrote me ten years ago, although you 
were then unknown to me, I send you herewith a copy of 
that reply. For, from about the commencement of the 
present century, I began to preserve a copy of all my 
Latin letters, and I regret that I did not begin sooner. In 



wyttenbach's correspondence. 131 

a letter to Dr. Randolph, also, written about the same 
time, I added a paragraph respecting you. No competent 
judge, on examining the execution of your Hephaestion, 
could ask for any thing more. When you intimate, that 
probably additional matter might have been found in the 
Leyden library, I suppose you refer to P. Bondam's 
collections on the Latin grammarians. But you would 
have been disappointed in them, if you had obtained them. 
The library has not, to my knowledge, any manuscript of 
Hephaestion himself. The curators would not allow me 
to make a copy of Draco of Stratonice for you. Hermann 
also applied for it, through Matthiae, of Altenburg, but to 
no purpose. He afterwards obtained, through Bast, a 
copy of the Paris manuscript, the same which Ruhnken 
had copied. Very few competent persons can be found 
here, who are willing to copy for others. Therefore, 
persons who wish copies of any manuscripts in our 
library, will be obliged to come here in person, as I 
have recently announced in my Bibliotheca Critica. 

I have not yet had the time to compare your accounts 
with mine. I prefer, as business is still unsettled here, 
that the money should be put at interest in England, 
as it has been heretofore. This reminds me of the 
circumstance, that you reckon the first volume of my 
Annotations, as making about one third of the whole, as 
if two other similar volumes were expected to follow. 
But you and the other delegates will recollect, that the 
engagement contained in my letter of the 19th of July, 
1800, had no reference to the extent of the work. If the 
remainder should all be brought within the compass of 
one volume, the 300 guineas would, according to contract, 
be my due. I will go directly about completing the 
remainder, and finish it as soon as my other engagements, 
my poor health, and my weak and diseased eyes will 
allow. 



132 CLASSICAL STUDIES. 

In your former letter, you observed, that the printers 
were waiting. But it should not be forgotten, that I 
must furnish such materials as shall be worthy of your 
university, and of the Clarendon press. Frederic Creuzer 
is professor in Heidelberg, and is one of the very best 
scholars in Germany. He has undertaken a new edition 
of Plotinus, and has lately published a specimen, and 
copies of it, I know, have been sent to England, from 
which you can easily judge of the excellence and the 
importance of the production. Therefore, if you take my 
advice, you will urge the delegates to think about this 
work, and not let it go elsewhere, or fall through. 

WYTTENBACH TO VILLOISON. 

Leyden, Jan. 6, 1801. 

In my former letter I recommended van Heusde to you. 
If he were now in Paris, Heemskerk would not need 
letters to you, for van Heusde would introduce him to 
you; on whose account, no less than mine, you would 
receive him kindly. But being uncertain whether he 
would find van Heusde still with you, I could not let my 
young friend go without a letter to you. * * * 

I wrote you some time since, that a parcel of my papers 
on Plutarch, the labor of four years, which I sent to 
Oxford three years ago, was lost on the way. But last 
month, after having lain in Hamburg during this whole 
interval, it came safely into the hands of the Oxford 
gentlemen. To extort from them a copy for you, is 
among the impossibilities. I will see that a copy is sent 
you, as soon as the work shall be finished. 

WYTTENBACH TO VILLOISON. 

Leyden, May 20, 1804. 
My niece expresses now in person, as she did formerly 
in her letters, all the gratitude towards you which a 



wyttenbach's correspondence. 133 

generous mind can cherish towards a benefactor. She 
lauds you to the skies, and speaks of your benevolence, 
your attentions, and your kind solicitude, as I never heard 
one speak in regard to any being. Not only were these 
kind offices in themselves grateful to her, but they were 
doubly so, coming, as they did, from one who is at the 
same time an accomplished scholar, and a most amiable and 
gentlemanly man, in forming whose genius and manners, 
Attic grace seems to have vied with Eoman urbanity. 
This is the way my niece talks, and I usually tell her: 
that her opinion is quite correct ; for it is exactly the same 
as mine. I must be brief, as this opportunity of sending 
you a package of books was unexpected. I was unwilling 
to send it without a few lines to accompany it. Here is 
a copy of Plutarch, the only one which was reserved, 
for me. I should have sent it long ago, had not these.- 
calamitous times hindered me. If your partiality towards 
me induces you to value this work on that account, more 
than you could from its insignificance, you shall receive 
the remaining volumes as fast as they appear. When 
that will be, I cannot say ; for I am obliged to keep a copy, 
in consequence of the double exposure to the chances of 
war and to the uncertainty of the seas. I make some 
progress in it, to be sure, but it is a slow affair. 

WYTTENBACH TO LARCHER 

Leyden, July 22, 1805. 

I have just received Sainte Croix's book and his letter,, 
which, as it contains a friendly message from you, brings 
you into such fresh remembrance, that I cannot resist the 
temptation to write at once. You are alive and well, 
then, my dear Larcher, and have not yet grown cold in 
your studies, but are still warm and glowing. May God 
long preserve you to enlighten me and the republic of 
letters. My desire for this is the stronger, as so many o£ 
12 



134 CLASSICAL STUDIES. 

our younger scholars are dying, and as the number of 
learned and good men of my particular acquaintance is 
constantly diminishing. How deep is the wound lately 
inflicted upon us by the death of our friend Villoison ! 
From the anguish of my own feelings, I can form some 
estimate how painful this occurrence must be to you. 
But we must do as Socrates says, " Let these things, my 
dear Criton, be as it may please the gods." 

For the splendid present of your Herodotus, I return 
you my most cordial thanks. This is all I can do ; — I 
cannot promise to repay you. I see the evidence of your 
friendship in many passages, where you make honorable 
mention of my name. You seem to have acted the part 
of a friend rather than of a severe critic, and I cannot 
help loving you all the better for it. On every page 
I see and admire the variety and exuberance of your 
learning, united with equal accuracy of judgment. Ever 
since your book reached me, I have had it by my side, 
in preparing my notes on Plutarch, in which I have, as 
was due, often spoken of you in terms of commendation. 
I hope they will appear while you are alive and in health, 
that you may read them yourself. I am obliged at present 
to retain them by me after they are written, on account of 
the hazard of sending them across the sea in time of war. 
The fate of my last package is a sad warning to me. I 
desire to commend publicly the merits of your Herodotus, 
while you yourself are able to read what I write ; and I 
hope to do it very soon, in the two parts which I have 
resolved to add, after a suspension of fifteen years, to my 
Bibliotheca Critica. Be so good, therefore, as to point 
out the passages which deserve notice, and those in 
which the new edition differs from the first, and you will 
save me much labor. For as I always prefer to use your 
new edition, I cannot, without considerable labor, examine 
the other for comparison. * * * 



wyttenbach's correspondence. 135 

Make my most respectful compliments to the learned 
Coray, "who is not only a Grecian, but a veritable Greek." 
My niece sends her cordial regards. She often speaks 
of you as a gentleman, in temper, genius, learning, and 
manners, amiable, admirable and venerable ; and I always 
agree with her, and add the wish, that you may yet enjoy 
many years of health and prosperity. 

WYTTENBACH TO SAINTE CROIX. 

In the country, Oct 27, 1805. 

On receiving your excellent treatise respecting the 
historians of Alexander the Great, and the agreeable and 
friendly letter which accompanied it, I immediately wrote 
you a reply, expressing my thanks for the beautiful present, 
and giving you an account of my affairs, in answer to 
your inquiries. At the same time I wrote to our friend 
Larcher, and to Chardon Rochette. Soon afterwards Bast 
sent me a copy of his excellent Lettre Critique, and I 
wrote, without delay, a letter of acknowledgement, with 
thanks for his kindness, and praise for his rare knowledge 
of the Greek. I requested him to send me his collations 
of Plato to embellish and improve my Phaedo, which was 
then in hand. To all these four letters I have received not 
a word of reply from any one of you ; and I have reason 
to fear either that they were all intercepted, or that some 
calamity has befallen you and my other friends, which 
may Heaven forbid. Let the letters go ; their loss, though 
unpleasant, can be made up. But what fortune could 
restore to me such friends as you, in Paris ? Now I beg 
you, my dear Sainte Croix, write me at your earliest 
convenience, and inform me whether you received my 
letter, and whether the others, to whom I wrote, received 
theirs. The silence of Bast gives me particular anxiety ; 
for I expressly requested him to write to me as soon as 
possible respecting the collations of Plato, as my necessities 



136 CLASSICAL STUDIES. 

were urgent. In the forth-coming additions to my journal, 
I have reviewed his Critical Epistle, Larcher's Herodotus, 
and your treatise on Alexander. I have also given brief 
notices of Villoison and de Santen. With Villoison and 
with your work I did as well as I could, considering that 
you did not furnish me with hints nor information according 
to my request. I read your book from beginning to end, 
preferring that course to comparing the two editions. 
It is an entirely new production. How I admire your 
eloquence combined with equal wisdom, — your knowledge 
of subjects, human and divine, your insight into character, 
and your genuine philosophy ! How I wonder at your 
knowledge of all history and literature, so that no 
passage, no mention of any writer, no part of a subject 
has been overlooked. All this matter, too, is animated by 
a living soul, at the same time critical and philosophical, 
distinguishing the true from the false, the good from the 
bad. You will see more in the review itself. 

The calumny which Luzac, a scribbler for the 
political papers, is spitting out against Ruhnken, I shall 
sometime chastise. It belongs to you to do the same 
in the Magazin Encyclopedique. Be sure that Sluiter's 
Lectiones Andocideae be not commended without any 
notice of his puerile mistakes in Greek, and his unjust 
attacks upon Ruhnken. # # # 

I believe I have some notes on your work relating to 
the mysteries of the ancients, but they are jotted down in 
my note-book, and scattered in various places. In the 
winter, when I am in the city, with my library around 
me, I can collect them, but not during the summer, while 
I am in the country. All, however, which I have, shall 
be at your command, and shall be collected in season. 
My niece remembers your kindness, and sends her cordial 
regards. 



WYTTENBACH S CORRESPONDENCE. 



137 



WYTTENBACH TO SAINTE CROIX. 

Leyden, May, 1807. 

I have, my dear Sainte Croix, been favored with many- 
friendly letters from you, particularly with your last, in 
which you inquire, with the greatest affection, respecting 
my welfare. The reason of my delaying to answer these 
letters, written with so great love, and so tender a solicitude 
for me, is the confused state of my affairs, which does not 
even yet afford me the leisure and composure of mind, 
suitable for writing. Many of my remote friends, even 
those living in other countries, alarmed for me, by the 
intelligence which they had received of our calamity, 
wrote me nearly at the same time, requesting me to 
inform them as soon as possible, of my condition; and you, 
my dear friend, are the first to whom I shall undertake 
to reply, if, indeed, I can summon courage and strength 
enough to enter upon a correspondence. 

The explosion took place on the twelfth day of January, 
1807, the last of the winter vacation, which I had been 
employing in writing my Annotations to Plutarch. In my 
library, all the books which I then needed, and especially 
the notes already written on this and other authors, were 
spread out on tables near the windows. I left them in that 
condition, to go to dinner, expecting to return immediately 
afterwards to rny work. While I was sitting at table 
with my niece, a strange and frightful noise, as of many 
cannons, fell upon our ears. Suddenly, the roof of the 
adjoining house fell in. The windows of our apartment 
were dashed in pieces, and a storm of broken glass was 
beating upon us. We sprang up and ran into the street, 
the affrighted servant and waiting-maid following us. 
Our neighbors, also, were at their doors in a state of 
amazement. Many persons were mangled ; some of them 
escaped from their houses ; some were enclosed, and were 
12* 



138 CLASSICAL STUDIES. 

screaming, and calling for aid ; and others, with bleeding 
limbs, were running through the streets. The cause of 
the disaster was not yet known. Soon, at the distance of 
a hundred paces, we saw the ruins, where every thing was 
levelled with the ground, and whence the devastation was 
spread in all directions beyond. Our house was still 
standing, for it was situated to the west of that place, and 
the wind, coming from that quarter, carried the blast more 
to the east. The place of that Stygian magazine ship, 
which was full of powder, and which prostrated every thing 
in its vicinity, was but 180 paces from my house, and many 
edifices, twice and three times as long as mine, were 
reduced to a heap of ruins. I had not yet looked at what 
was under our feet. The street was perfectly strown 
with flying papers. I took one up, and recognized my 
own hand-writing, and found they were all mine. We 
went to picking them up, and, as I looked to my study 
windows, which were on the front side, and in the first 
story, I found they were broken in, and the papers, 
containing my notes, projected from their tables, into the 
street. We returned to the house, to see what had 
happened there. The apartments were all shattered ; the 
windows, the doors, the glass and porcelain ware, nice 
furniture, timepieces, lamps, and plates, were all dashed 
in pieces. The entire roof was carried away. Parts of 
the house, including my lecture-room, were fallen; and 
we feared it would be unsafe for us to remain in it. 
But the carpenters assured us, that there were still two 
apartments which might be safely occupied. We therefore 
remained till the end of January, — the first week, without 
roof, windows, or doors. We suffered extremely from the 
rain, the snow, the cold, and the wind. Our remaining 
furniture, linen, bed-clothes, and the like, were, by these 
means, greatly damaged, and still more, my library, 
which was exposed two nights to the falling dew. We 



WYTTENBACHS CORRESPONDENCE. 



139 



were all trie while expecting repairs to be made, but the 
carpenters kept putting us off. The adjoining houses, 
which threatened to fall, were torn down by order of the 
magistrates, who, fearing that ours would thereby be 
prostrated, sent armed men to remove us, and others, who 
resided near us. The domestics were panic-struck, and 
friends, alarmed for me, though I knew there was no 
cause for it, hastened to our relief, and persuaded us to 
take our most valuable articles, and leave the house. I 
yielded reluctantly to their will, and packed up those 
goods, and delivered them to my friends for safe-keeping. 
In the tumult, many things were lost, which had hitherto 
been safe, and, among the rest, a purse, with 600 florins. 
Nevertheless, we remained in the house fifteen days 
longer, daily packing our goods in a quiet manner, and 
conveying them, by the canal, to the garden where I 
now reside, and from which I go, on stated days, into the 
city to lecture. But in arranging my effects, and in 
sorting out my library, I miss many of my books, and 
even my note-books and comments on Greek and Latin 
authors ; and I now feel the truth of what numerous 
individuals before said, but what I could not believe, that, 
at the time of the explosion, many of my papers were 
blown away, and carried by the wind to the scene of 
devastation. 

These, my dear Sainte Croix, are what relate to me. I 
have written respecting them, because you requested it ; 
for, truly, I am ashamed to mention such trifles, compared 
with the calamities of others. One hundred and fifty 
persons were crushed in the ruins, and among them, the 
two professors, Kluit and Luzac. The former was my 
friend, and had made large collections on the history of 
the Middle Ages and of Holland, which he was expecting 
to publish, but which perished with him. Luzac was 
crushed by the falling house of a friend, as he was 



140 



CLASSICAL STUDIES. 



approaching the door, to visit him. While thinking of 
their death, I am always reminded of what is said of 
Theramenes, in Plutarch's Consolation to Apollonius, 
who, when at a feast, where the building fell, and 
destroyed all the guests but himself, exclaimed, " O, 
fortune, for what hast thou preserved me ?" A short time 
afterwards, he was put to death by the tyrants of Athens. 
Let us bear with equanimity whatever shall come upon 
us. Still I cannot but inquire frequently, " Why did 
Luzac perish, and not I?" If the wind had been in a 
contrary direction, he would have escaped, and I should 
have perished. Let us, then, render thanks to Him who 
directs the winds and all the course of nature. For the 
residue of life let us do him homage by a diligent 
performance of our duties. A part of these duties with 
me will be, to devote myself to my studies, and to prepare 
anew the notes that have been lost. As it respects the 
books of the university library, concerning which you 
inquire, none were lost, except those which were lent to 
persons whose houses were destroyed. 

WYTTENBACH TO BOISSONADE. 

Leyden, Feb. 18, 1808. 
I was duly honored with your book and the accompanying 
letter, the former of which delighted rne with its learning, 
the latter with its kindness. I accept the book as a 
welcome token of your good-will, but I did not request 
it, as you suppose, though, I assure you, I desired it for 
your sake. I rejoice to see the accurate learning and 
the enthusiasm for ancient literature which, from the 
days of Budaeus to those of Henry de Valois, belonged 
pre-eminently, if not exclusively, to the French, now 
reviving among you. Nor am I less gratified that the 
excellent Bast has become your associate in this work, 
and that you will thus be able to rescue the honor of 



wyttenbach's correspondence. 141 

these studies with the next generation. You alone, 
who were unwilling that your work should come to 
my knowledge, on account of its mediocrity, seem to 
place too modest and low an estimate upon your powers. 
Such a diffidence, — or shall I call it irony? — does not 
become a man of so much learning. Of your design to 
edit Eunapius, I highly approve, and I shall take pleasure 
in giving you whatever I have collected on him. * * Be 
so kind as to send the enclosed letter to Bast. 

WYTTENBACH TO CHARDON LA ROCHETTE. 

Leyden, Oct. 22, 1808. 

Your letter and the letter of Morelli were duly 
received. They were particularly grateful to me as the 
communications of eminent scholars, who were at the 
same time my most beloved, and my most cordial friends. 
You speak of having sent to me a fasciculus from 
Morelli, by which, I suppose, you mean un paquet; for I 
have received nothing but your letter, enclosing his, and 
he makes no mention of any thing more. Your notice 
of the third part of my Bibliotheca Critica in the Magazin 
Encyclopedique, was given me by my friend Lynden, who 
has just returned from his journey. He often speaks of 
your kind attentions, and expresses much gratitude for 
what you have done. That notice gives evidence both 
of your learning and of your friendship for me. The last 
part of the Bibliotheca, with several indexes, will be 
completed soon, by the end of the year, at latest ; and I 
will send a copy to you and to my other friends in Paris. 
You will oblige me, if you can send the package of 
Morelli to him without expense. * * * 

You kindly inquire whether the fearful calamity, which 
has befallen our city, affected me in particular. In my 
person, I escaped unhurt; but in the injury done to my 
furniture, library, etc., I have lost about 6000 francs. I 



142 CLASSICAL STUDIES. 

Avas very near the scene, being only 150 paces from the 
magazine ship. My house was completely shattered; 
part of it fell in. I now live in a small garden in the 
suburbs, and have not yet been able to return to my 
Plutarch whence I was driven by the explosion. Shortly 
after the melancholy occurrence, I gave a particular 
account of it, in a letter to Sainte Croix, to which I refer 
you, Larcher, and all my inquiring friends. While on 
this subject, I may mention that Mahne, whose work on 
Aristoxenus I reviewed in the first part of the Bibliotheca 
Critica, will, in a few days, publish a very learned work. 
My review of the Lectiones Andocideae has been assailed 
by two blockheads in two Belgian papers. To these 
Mahne has replied, and in his refutation has cast new 
light on many subjects in antiquities, and on many forms 
of expression in Greek and Latin. But I will send you 
the book with the last part of the Bibliotheca Critica. In 
a few months my Phaedo will follow, for which Morelli 
furnished me the various readings of two Venetian 
manuscripts, and Bast of seven in the Vienna library. 

WYTTENBACH TO LARCHER. 

Leyden, July 21, 1809. 

Though I often think of you, Larcher, " thou friend of 
my heart," my thoughts are more particularly directed to 
you by the sad intelligence of the death of our excellent 
friend, Sainte Croix, which has reached us only by 
common report. If this report is true, I shall deeply 
lament a loss so great to myself, to you, and to our 
studies ; for we shall be deprived of a most valuable and 
cordial friend, and classical learning of a distinguished 
ornament. In the last volume of my Bibliotheca Critica, 
I paid a tribute to the memory of Villoison ; I should like 
to do the same for Sainte Croix, in the next, provided I 
can obtain the requisite information. If you could furnish 



WYTTENBAaH's CORRESPONDENCE. 143 

me with these, my dear Larcher, you would do me a great 
favor. Should the labor be too burdensome for you, in 
your advanced age, be so kind as to engage some suitable 
person to undertake the service. If it should be the 
will of God that I should survive you, I shall owe the 
same tribute of affection to you. It may not, then, be 
transgressing the rules of propriety, to request you to 
send me some brief sketch of your own life. " But let 
all these things be as the gods direct." I hope you 
have received from Boissonade the last number of the 
Bibliotheca Critica. * * * 

"We are expecting, about this time, the arrival of 
the learned Frederic Creuzer, formerly professor in 
Heidelberg, but now appointed Luzac's successor in the 
Greek professorship in Leyden. He is a profound and 
elegant scholar, and is already well known by several 
publications, the last and most important of which, on the 
origin of the Dionysiac orgies, has no doubt come to 
your knowledge. The text and Prolegomena of my 
Phaedo have long been struck off; but the printers get 
along slowly with the commentary, though it has long 
been written out. 



WYTTENBACH TO J. B. GAIL. 

Leyden, July 13, 1810. 

Your Thucydides, and your kind letter, together 
with two other books, all reached me in safety. The 
Thucydides was a very welcome present, not only on 
account of its elegance, but for the proof which it gives of 
your friendship, and the pleasing recollection which it 
awakens of other similar favors. By your elaborate 
edition of this triumvir of the Greek historians, you have 
entitled yourself to the favor of classical scholars, and all 
lovers of learning. You would have conferred a great 



144 CLASSICAL STUDIES. 

benefit upon the friends of ancient literature, if you had 
done no more than reprint the text ; for that would have 
facilitated the study of this author, by multiplying copies. 
But by collating the manuscripts and adding a commentary, 
you have greatly increased our obligations to you. I will 
have this and your other works properly noticed in my 
journal, if, indeed, in the changed state of our affairs, the 
work shall be continued. Then, too, I shall be able to 
read and examine them carefully, but at present, my 
thoughts are too much occupied with other things. And 
now, my dear sir, go on as you have begun, kindling and 
keeping up the enthusiasm among your countrymen for 
Greek literature. One of the volumes which you were 
so kind as to send to me, containing the fifth and sixth 
books, is blotted in the margin, and I have taken the 
liberty to give it to our friend, Le Pileur, who will, if 
agreeable to you, bring back a clean copy. * 

WYTTENBACH TO COUNT DE FONTANES. 

Leyden, Jan. 25, 1812. 

That you, respected sir, who are so distinguished both for 
your sense and learning, and who, by a kind Providence, 
are now placed over us, should condescend to signify to me 
by letter, that you were not displeased with my Phaedo, 
emboldens me to write to you, and lay before you some 
affairs in which I am interested. I have been professor 
forty years, twenty-eight at Amsterdam, and the remainder 
at Leyden. I was brought to this place almost against my 
will, in order to take charge of two vacant professorships, 
that of Latin eloquence and universal history, and that of 
Greek literature and antiquities, to which the charge of 
the library has been added. I still discharge the duties 
of my threefold office. During all this period, I have 
employed whatever leisure I could find, in study and in 
writing for the press, and begin to learn more and more 



wyttenbach's correspondence. 145 

the extent of my ignorance. By such thoughts I have 
sometimes been almost tempted to turn aside from the 
literary career upon which I had entered. Two things 
have chiefly kept me from doing so, the approbation 
of intelligent men, and the encouraging number and 
character of my pupils. I have therefore adhered to my 
purpose, though publicly assailed by the tongue of envy 
and calumny. Recently no less than three individuals 
have attacked me, two anonymously, in two Belgian 
journals, the one an advocate, it is said, the other a 
professor, in Harderwyck. The third is a retired 
theologian, an old hand at abuse, and a trumpeter of the 
Kantian philosophy. Knowing my dislike of the sect, 
he has been trying to vent upon me, in barbarous Latin, 
the bitterest abuse that could be picked up from the 
gutter. Although this abuse has not hit me, and I care 
nothing about it on my own account, yet, since these low 
fellows make every good man the mark of their ribaldry, 
and sell themselves to the multitude, making mischief 
among our students, it would be doing a good service to 
have that nuisance abated by public authority. 

Our country being now reduced to a province of the 
French empire, we, the public professors, hope that the 
same pay for our services and support in old age, which 
was appointed by our government, will, through your 
influence and good- will, be continued to us by the emperor; 
and we commend ourselves, and our fortunes, to your 
guardian care. Nothing shall deter me, on my part, from 
a diligent and faithful discharge of the duties of my office. 
The weakness of my eyes, which has prevented me from 
reading, has, in no way, impaired my ability to teach. I 
have now several works ready for publication. Among 
them is the continuation of my Bibliotheca Critica, which 
is to contain addenda to Phaedo and Plutarch, and a 
memoir of Louis William Wassernaer, a young Batavian, 
13 



146 CLASSICAL STUDIES. 

of one of the oldest families, and promising still greater 
distinction in literature. He was on the point of giving 
us a learned treatise on the life and writings of Chrysippus, 
when, in July last, his death snatched away all these high 
hopes. This journal, which I used to publish at intervals 
of about one year, and several works prepared by myself 
and by others are kept back by the new censorship for 
the press, which, while it is useful in suppressing vulgar 
libels, causes such delay in the publication of literary 
works as greatly to prejudice the interests of learning. 
We look to your excellency to provide a remedy for this 
evil. I am informed that my friend and disciple Mahne is 
a candidate for the new professorship at Brussels, whose 
qualifications for this office your excellency may learn 
from his Aristoxenus and his Epicrisis. By supporting his 
claims, you will consult the interests of that professorship, 
and do me a personal favor. 

Van Praet, keeper of the imperial library at Paris, has 
requested me to exchange our rare edition of Martial for 
another from the imperial library. But I have no right to 
do so, nor do our curators consider themselves authorized 
to perform such an act. He intimates a wish, that the 
business may be transacted through the minister of the 
interior. I have, therefore, consulted Brugmans, our 
rector, who desires me to entreat you, both in his name 
and my own, to avert such an evil, and to protect our 
library from injury, for the benefit of ourselves and our 
posterity. 

WYTTENBACH TO H. C. A. EICHSTAEDT. 

Leyden, Sept 7, 1802. 

I have delayed replying to your letter, my dear 

Eichstaedt, longer than I had intended. I am unable to 

do as I would, on account of not enjoying my usual 

health, and being so troubled with my eyes, that I can 



wyttenbach's correspondence. 147 

neither write nor even read. The parcel recently received 
from you contained many things which delighted me ; — 
first your letter ; next the second volume of your Diodorus ; 
then the critical performances of your two pupils, Purgold 
and Ast; and, finally, — what deserved to be mentioned 
first, — the communication from the Jena Latin Society, 
inviting me to become a member. Will you, my excellent 
friend, by whose recommendation, no doubt, this honor 
was conferred upon me, have the goodness to present 
to your colleagues and associates my thanks for this 
honorable testimony of their respect. Remember me 
kindly to those two pupils of yours, whose critical essays 
you sent to me, and assure them that I was greatly 
pleased with their elegance and learning. Encourage 
Purgold, who proceeds in a grammatical way from words 
to things, to go on as he has begun. To Ast, who goes 
on in a philosophical way from things to words, repeat 
the prediction of Parmenides, in regard to the young 
Socrates ; " You are still young, and philosophy will 
hereafter take a stronger hold upon you than it has yet." 
I will repay your present in the same coin, and send you 
a treatise on Panaetius, by van Lynden, a disciple from my 
school, one of the most distinguished of our young men, 
both in rank and in learning. I should send you more 
copies and other works, if I knew of any conveyance 
that was not too expensive. Inform me on this point, 
when you write again ; for I suppose, that as you are a 
contributor to the Jena Literary Journal, such things may 
be sent to you free of expense. 

I did not believe my critical Epistle, and my other 
observations on Julian, would be published in Leipsic 
without my consent. Four years ago, Professor Kuhn, 
of Leipsic, wrote, requesting me to give to Schafer, then 
a bookseller, my notes on Julian, and such unpublished 
observations as I had on Plutarch. I replied, that I could 



148 CLASSICAL STUDIES. 

do neither; that, as to Plutarch, it could not be done, 
without a breach of the contract with the Oxford press ; 
and that I was unwilling that Julian should appear in 
such bad paper and type as those employed in Schafer's 
reprint of the Oxford edition of Plutarch. I had heard 
that there was a quarrel between this Leipsic publisher 
and another at Tubingen about reprinting my Plutarch. 
I mentioned this circumstance in my preface to the 
Annotations, which I sent to England in 1798. Perhaps 
I spoke with too much severity of Schafer, a gentleman 
for whom I entertain the highest respect, with the single 
exception of his piratical turn. But that Tubingen 
concern is downright plagiarism. * * * 

I have not yet seen Wolf's edition of Cicero, of which 
you speak. Two years ago I read those orations, and 
compared them with the others and with Markland's 
animadversions, and I have done the same since. They 
appeared to me then, and do still appear, to be genuine 
productions of Cicero. * * * 



WYTTENBACH TO J. C. BANG. 

Leyden, April 10, 1803. 

I received, my dear Bang, the letter of your son, 
overflowing with kindness and filial affection, and yet 
most painful to my feelings on account of the sad 
intelligence it brings from you. I sat down at once to 
reply to you, though actually unable to write. For I 
have been suffering more than a year from my diseased 
eyes, and from ill health, so that I am often obliged to 
neglect my daily lectures. I therefore left unfinished 
the letter which I had commenced, deferred writing from 
day to day, and attended to my health. But now, being 
somewhat refreshed by the warm spring Aveather, I will 
take advantage of the Easter holydays, in bringing up 



■wyttenbach's correspondence. 149 

my neglected correspondence, first with yourself, and 
then, perhaps, with others. 

Shall I begin, my dear Bang, by attempting to console 
you, while I myself am so deeply affected by my own 
calamities and by yours, that I need consolation from 
others ? * * * 

And what shall I say of my own circumstances ? My 
health is such, that it would of itself throw a shade over 
any degree of prosperity. Besides, fortune now frowns, 
sufficiently to break down the stoutest heart. How am 
I cast down from that state of quiet and plenty, in which 
I had hoped to pass my old age ! This hope I was still 
cherishing two years ago, when I gave your son a letter 
to Heyne, of Gdttingen ; but soon after that time, it was 
utterly destroyed by the desolating war which immediately 
began to rage, and from which we had but just escaped, 
with the loss of all we had to lose, when this new war 
broke out, — a war that is equally destructive to the 
State and to the fortunes of individuals. Not only was it 
the case then, but even since the present return of peace, 
the taxes are so enormous, as almost to deprive us of 
the means of subsistence, and to cut off all hope of a 
happier future. To all this are added the calamities 
which have befallen my native Switzerland, where my 
relatives reside, and where, but for the disasters which 
have also befallen them, I might, in case of necessity, 
have found a refuge. But their fortunes also are ruined. 
My brother, whose estate was consumed in supporting 
the war, has at last been disappointed in his hopes of 
promotion, and is even disgraced. When I came to 
Leyden, I left at Amsterdam a more lucrative and a more 
agreeable situation. I did it to oblige the family of 
Ruhnken, for whose subsistence I could not induce the 
government to make provision, except upon the condition 
that I would succeed him in the professorship. I formerly 
13* 



150 CLASSICAL STUDIES. 

thought of providing for your younger son, by obtaining 
a stipend for him at Leyden, if he should give promise of 
eminence. But, in the first place, the stipend here is so 
small, that it will not more than half pay a student's 
expenses ; and, furthermore, since the recent change in 
our government, all foreigners are excluded from that 
privilege. Therefore, it will be best for him, while he 
shall remain at Marburg, to study under his kinsman, 
Creuzer. * * * 

Remember me affectionately to your sons, and to 
Creuzer. And, as to yourself, keep up all possible 
courage, and frequently call to mind the memorable words 
of Socrates ; " There is nothing evil to a good man, 
whether living or dead ; nor is he ever neglected by the 
gods." * * * 

WYTTENBACH TO C. D. BECK. 

Leyden, May 12, 1805. 
I fear that the accompanying pamphlets will be an old 
story to you. But my delay will be made up by your 
indulgence, and your confidence in my good intentions. 
For I think I may infer from your writings, that, to 
distinguished learning, you add equal gentleness and 
amiableness of character. I therefore indulge the hope, 
that you will kindly receive this trifling present, although 
it is nothing at all, either in quality or extent, when 
compared with the transactions of the Leipsic Philological 
Society, which you were so kind as to present to me three 
years ago. I should have sent something immediately in 
return, if any opportunity had offered. Of my Annotations 
on Plutarch, nothing but the introduction is yet printed. 
The remainder I dare not yet send to England. We 
have met with a great loss, in the death of our excellent 
friend, Villoison, which I feel the more sensibly, as I have, 



wyttenbach's correspondence. 151 

from the time of my first acquaintance with him in Paris, 
thirty years ago, maintained to the present time an 
interchange of letters and kind offices. 

WYTTENBACH TO F. A. WOLF. 

Leyden, July 5, 1805. 

I often call to mind, my dear "Wolf, that day which 
you gave me at Amsterdam, and which I passed most 
agreeably in talking with you. I had hoped it would be 
but the beginning of an uninterrupted intimacy and 
intercourse by letter, between us, though absent from 
each other. But hitherto, that expectation has been 
disappointed, and the fault has been all my own. I regret 
exceedingly that I have permitted it to be so. We ought 
to be on terms of intimacy, from our common love of 
letters and of our lamented Ruhnken. Though, as I have 
said, the fault is mine, it was not owing to any want of 
inclination, but to a want of time and health, which has 
compelled me to drop, or defer my correspondence with 
my dearest friends, and with you among the rest. But 
your Homer, sent to me last September, by Gosch, a gift 
inscribed to me in your own hand-writing, has strangely 
moved me to reply. I have sent you in return, a present 
of my last work, which was conveyed through Luchtmans, 
to Leipsic, whence it will go to your friend, Eichstaedt, and 
thence to you. I now put my letter into the hands of 
Gosch, who will see that it is immediately delivered to 
you. 

After your return, I visited Ruhnken several times, who 
seemed to take great pleasure in speaking of you, and held 
you in so high estimation as to desire you for a colleague, 
and manifested unusual anxiety for your reply. You 
surely had good reason for declining such terms ; for, on 
the salary which was offered, you would have had to 
starve like a hero ; or if, as would have been necessary, 



152 CLASSICAL STUDIES. 

you had received twice that amount, a flame of envy 
would have been kindled around you. Our friend 
Ruhnken died in May, 1798. I came to Leyden to 
make preparations for his funeral, and came frequently 
afterwards to console and cheer the afflicted family, the 
depth of whose sorrow I will not attempt to describe. 
Your letter arrived at the same time, but I could not 
well answer it then. These things, though I had not 
forgotten you, my dear Wolf, escaped my memory. The 
distress of the bereaved family engaged all my thoughts. 
In their behalf, I made application to the curators for a 
pension. As it was a time of change in our public affairs, 
and new curators frequently succeeded to the place of the 
old, much time was consumed without bringing any thing 
to pass, and the estate of the family was, in the meantime, 
wasting away. When the public commotions were in 
some degree allayed, I addressed a communication to the 
new curators, presenting as strongly as I could, the claims 
of the Ruhnken family. They replied, that my request 
could be granted only on condition of my succeeding 
Ruhnken myself. I hesitated, — but at length consented, 
though with less salary than had been offered me here 
before, and less than I was then receiving in Amsterdam, 
where my situation was, furthermore, in every respect 
agreeable. I came to Leyden, supposing that every one 
applauded this good deed of mine. But how sadly 
was I disappointed ! The daughters of my deceased 
friend proved ungrateful; the mother acknowledged my 
benefaction. But others envied and slandered me. 

I will mention, as you may not know it, that the 
younger daughter, the one who was blind, died in May, 
1801. Elizabeth, the elder, went to France, and was 
married to a military surgeon, whose acquaintance she 
had made in Leyden. He is now a country doctor in 
Normandy. Her situation is not altogether agreeable ; it 



wyttenbach's correspondence. 153 

is unworthy of her father's fame, and of the high hopes 
excited when she was that beautiful and accomplished 
girl, whose hand was sought so frequently by men of 
rank. The mother is pretty well, for one who is both 
dumb and blind. 

My commentary on Plutarch is nearly half finished, 
but none of it is struck off, except the preface, and a 
dissertation on the spurious treatise on Education. I am 
now engaged in preparing an edition of Plato's Phaedo. 
Go on, my dear Wolf, and edit Homer entire, with a 
commentary, that shall enable us to dispense with all 
other editions. It is said by those who have read the 
article, that Heyne's Homer has been reviewed with 
severity by you and your friends. I have wished to get 
a sight of that review, but have not yet been able. This 
circumstance reminds me of our good Villoison, who used 
to call Heyne his "persecutor." The death of Villoison 
has inflicted the deeper wound on me, as our friendship 
was of long standing. It was contracted at Paris in 1775, 
and has been confirmed by mutual kind offices, and 
by correspondence, and continued, though often amid 
differences of opinion, till the present time. May yours, 
my dear Wolf, still be a long and happy life ; and rest 
assured, that, with me, difference of opinion is no 
interruption of friendship ; and that you are, and will not 
cease to be, dear to me, on account of our common pursuits, 
and our common love for the departed Euhnken. 

WYTTENBACH TO HEYNE. 

Leyden, Nov. 24, 1805. 
My excellent friend, would that the " genius, who 
presides over my natal star," had not made me such a 
dilatory and slothful correspondent ! Then I should not 
be undutiful towards every good and indulgent man to 
whom I have occasion to write. Of all my learned 



154 CLASSICAL STUDIES. 

friends, bound to me by the ties of good-will and 
scholarship, you are the oldest survivor. I delight to 
recall the time, though short, when I enjoyed the benefit 
of your teaching and counsels at Gottingen. I very 
much regret that I have so long neglected you. I could, 
indeed, make out a very decent apology, but I prefer to 
rely on your good-will towards me. " I did the wrong, I 
own the crime; but now will make amends." The 
remainder of our joint lives let us not suffer to pass off in 
like manner; but rather let us seize upon it, and, by 
frequent intercourse of letters, make the most of our old 
age, and mutually share each other's affections. 

The last time I wrote to you, Ruhnken was still alive 
and well ; I have already felt his loss for seven years, and 
shall never cease to feel it. I have now no one by me, 
whom I can enjoy as a teacher and a friend. 0, that I 
had you for my colleague ! For J. Luzac, my present 
colleague, and I do not draw well together. Twenty 
years ago, in party times, he became the successor of 
Valckenaer, aided by the recommendation of Ruhnken. 
He afterwards became ungrateful, and slandered the sole 
author of his honor and promotion ; and struck at him, 
when dead, with the weapon of envy ; and has recently, 
under the name of a common disciple of ours, the author 
of the Lectiones Andocideae, — treated certainly with 
sufficient lenity in your journal, — accused Ruhnken of 
plagiarism from Valckenaer 's papers. I felt myself called 
upon to vindicate that great man from the suspicion 
which was unjustly cast upon him; with much gentleness 
and lenity, however, since the nominal author was my 
pupil, and yet in such a way, that it might be seen who 
the accuser was, and who the accused. I wholly disregard 
the puerile imputations which the disguised writer brings 
against myself, whom, as the successor of Ruhnken, he 
considers as a just object of his ire. It is singular, indeed, 



wyttenbach's correspondence. 155 

that, in leaving my more eligible situation in Amsterdam, 
and accepting this, in Leyden, I should have drawn upon 
me the envy and reproaches of so many. These I refute 
by silence, and by a consciousness of having acted purely 
from a filial regard for Euhnken, whose distressed family 
could have been provided with a comfortable subsistence 
at that time only by my removal. 

But, my venerated friend, I return to you. It was upon 
you alone that my thoughts were resting, when I sat down 
to write ; and I know not how it is, that, in purposing to 
make inquiries about you and of you, I have fallen into 
descanting upon my own affairs. Are you, then, well? 
and does every thing go to your mind ? I doubt not, from 
what I know of your equanimity, mildness, and experience 
in human affairs, that you bear your advanced years in 
such a way, as to render this truly the blooming period of 
your mind. So it was with our friend Ruhnken. His 
biography I sent you at the time of its publication, though 
I had not time then to write. I was obliged reluctantly to 
defer writing to you, till I could find a little leisure, which 
has at length arrived. This I will affirm, that, during 
the whole period that has since intervened, every mention 
of your name, or that of your country, whether it occurred 
in conversation, or in recent publications, has awakened a 
solicitude for you, and it has been my prayer that your 
public calamities might be counterbalanced by personal 
and domestic prosperity. When will this protracted and 
calamitous war come to an end ? When shall things be 
restored to their original state ? But you are still vigorous 
and nourishing in literature. I often hear of your new 
publications, and sometimes see the works themselves, or 
summaries of them. It surprises me to find that the 
same energy, which distinguished your youth, remains 
undiminished in your old age. It has grieved me to see 
the severity with which your Homer has been treated by 



156 CLASSICAL STUDIES. 

certain persons. You should have been treated like 
Nestor, and these words, addressed to him, often occur to 
me, when thinking of you: "Indeed, old man, the youthful 
warriors waste thy strength." But the next line, " Thy 
strength is gone, and dreary age o'ertakes thee," will not 
apply to you. As I have already said, I say again, your 
old age is the blooming period of your mind, and you 
stand in need of no Diomedes, to take you into his chariot. 
Your established fame, your past life, your immortal 
works, and your merits, will sufficiently protect you. In 
a second edition of my Critical Epistle, which I now 
meditate, it will be to me a pleasure again to pay you a 
public tribute of respect in connection with Ruhnken. * * 
Farewell, "thou Nestor, the great glory of the Greeks." 

WYTTENBACH TO C G. SCHUTZ. 

Suburbs of Leyden, April, 1807. 

I regard it as a special token of love, that your interest 
in the calamity which has befallen us, has induced you to 
write to me, and to request that I would give you the 
particulars, and thus relieve your solicitude. I should 
have done so immediately, had I not been so engaged in 
rescuing my effects, and putting them in order, as to leave 
me no leisure for writing. Though still in a state of 
disquiet, I must resume my neglected correspondence, 
and I will begin with you. The task you ask me to 
perform will revive all the sorrow of that dreadful scene, 
in which, indeed, I had but little share. My lot was easy 
compared with that of many others, whose hard fate I 
could not adequately describe, even if I had a hundred 
tongues. * * * 

I wonder, my dear sir, that you make no mention of 
the late change in your political condition, — that you are 
so occupied with my misfortunes, as if nothing had 
happened among you. Whatever be the cause of your 



wyttenbach's correspondence. 157 

silence in this respect, whether it be a delicate regard to 
myself or some other consideration, I shall infer that all 
things are well with you. For a long time, I have been 
ignorant what the Germans are doing, — what books they 
are publishing in our department of literature. For, 
though I am a subscriber for your Literary Journal, it 
rarely reaches me in these times. I am particularly 
desirous of knowing what you are about. On finishing 
iEschylus, have you edited the Rhetorical Writings of 
Cicero ? The last edition of the former I have directed 
my booksellers to procure for me ; the latter I have not 
yet seen. By sending them, as you say you will, you 
will do me a great favor. * * * 

Farewell, my dear friend. Pray remember me to your 
colleagues, Wolf and Niemeyer. To the former, I purpose 
to write without delay ; briefly, however, in respect to my 
affairs, as he can, if he should think it worth his while, 
ascertain them of you. I beg you to answer me soon, 
unless it is too much trouble. 

P. S. I have finally thought it safest to enclose Wolf's 
letter in yours. Be so kind as to send it to him, and add 
one more to the favors already conferred upon me. 

WYTTENBACH TO WOLF. 

Suburbs of Leyden, April 1, 1807. 

" Providence brings good out of evil." The Ley den 
calamity has brought me a letter from you, which might 
otherwise have been long delayed. * * * Should you 
desire further information respecting the explosion, you 
will find it in my letter to Schutz. * * * 

I now come to your own affairs. — You are right in 
not suffering political troubles to interrupt your studies. 
Your edition of Homer, then, is completed, and the 
commentary published. I wish very much to see it. As 
soon as our library, which has hitherto been closed on 
14 



158 CLASSICAL STUDIES. 

account of the repairs the workmen are still making, shall 
be opened again, I will search out for you Ruhnken's 
papers on Hesiod, and procure a copyist as cheap as 
possible. These papers have not yet, to my knowledge, 
been examined by van Lennep, a young man of promise, 
formerly my pupil, and now my successor in Amsterdam, 
who is also preparing a new edition of Hesiod, and for 
whom, I suspect, Boissonade is furnishing readings from 
the Paris manuscripts. You know that I have decided to 
publish the letters of Euhnken. I request you, therefore, 
if you have no objection, to favor me with those which 
he addressed to you. The old house, where you saw 
him, and which was sold on his death, is now levelled 
to the ground. His widow, who is blind, dumb, and 
somewhat deaf, and an invalid, has every comfort which it 
is possible for her to enjoy. The daughter writes that she 
is not unhappily situated in France. The Luchtmanses 
have recently published, in one volume, the Eulogy of 
Hemsterhuys, with Euhnken's other orations and essays. 
It has no alterations or additions from his papers ; it has 
a bookseller's preface, but I do not know by whom it was 
written. Farewell, my dear Wolf, and believe me to be 
one of the foremost of those who cordially love you, for 
your great learning, and for your kindness towards me. 

WYTTENBACH TO AUGUSTUS MATTHIAE. 

Leyden, Oct. 6, 1807. 
The present of your Greek Grammar, my dear 
Matthiae, is, both on account of its author, and of its 
inherent excellence, very acceptable to me. As I always 
valued your friendship, when you were with us, it is 
highly gratifying to me now to learn, particularly, by 
such a public testimony, that your friendship has not, by 
our separation during this long interval, been interrupted 
nor abated. Your learning was not unknown to me 



wyttenbach's correspondence. 159 

when you were at Amsterdam, but I perceive from this 
book that it is wonderfully increased. From your 
Miscellanies, too, published at Altenburg, I observed you 
had made great progress. I noticed these in the Bibliotheca 
Critica, though the copy which was sent me, — by your 
direction, I suppose, — was destroyed with other books, by 
the late explosion. But I return to the book now before 
me. I have run hastily through it, and have read some 
parts, particularly the preface, carefully. My own health, 
and that of my family being ill at present, and being 
unwilling to put off writing to you any longer, I will 
content myself with a few words more, and defer the 
remainder till I have more leisure. I approve of your 
method of uniting theory and usage, especially as you 
give the preponderance to the latter, and verify it by 
abundant learning, in which you show that you have the 
whole Greek language at your command. I wish you 
had written your book in Latin, so that it might, out of 
your own country, serve as a means of promoting you to 
a professorship. Why not make an abridgement in Latin, 
retaining the examples from classical writers, which 
constitute no small ornament to the work ? In style, labor 
to be perspicuous and elegant, and show by your example, 
that you not only teach, but also possess, the Grecian 
spirit, and are free from all the barbarous forms of the 
scholastic writers. You have acted wisely in making 
usage your chief aim. The analogical method, as it was 
employed by Hemsterhuys, after the example of Scaliger 
and Salmasius, does, indeed, throw much light upon the 
origin, signification, and forms of words. But Lennep 
did not exhibit it as it was practised by its author ; and 
Scheid so corrupted and perverted it, that with many it 
has led to the worst evils. These stupid creatures have 
strangely adopted the analogical method, to the neglect 
of declension and conjugation, and even teachers and 



160 CLASSICAL STUDIES. 

professors have sometimes fallen into this absurdity. It 
is altogether better to retain that old and severe, but 
profitable discipline of carefully learning the Greek and 
Latin paradigms, to which our own fathers trained us, 
in our boyhood, and which was continued, when they put 
us under other masters. In a review of Scheid's edition 
of Lennep, in my Bibliotheca Critica, volume third, and 
part second, I have exposed this false system. If you 
had consulted that article, and my other writings, while 
preparing your Grammar, you might have rendered it 
more complete in many places. I sent my commentary 
on Plutarch to Oxford to be printed, two years ago, but it 
is not yet done. If that work should come to your 
hands, it will also aid you in enlarging your work, for it 
contains many observations on the theory and usage of 
the Greek language. 

I regret to learn, that there is any misunderstanding 
between you and Huschke. As soon as he shall have 
arrived here, I will do my best to restore you to your old 
friendship ; and, after the example of Atticus, " to compare 
small things with great," prevent any quarrel, and make 
your rivalry in honor, as it should be with such persons, 
a bond of friendship. 

In regard to Huschke 's call to this university, the 
matter stands thus. When a successor was to be chosen 
in the place of the departed Luzac, the curators requested 
me, in conjunction with our friend, de Bosch, to select a 
person who would be agreeable to me as a colleague, and, 
at the same time, competent to the place. After differing 
in opinion in respect to others, we finally agreed upon 
Huschke. The curators confirmed the nomination, but 
the approval was not obtained till quite recently, and 
this circumstance has occasioned a delay in his coming 
here. * * * 



wyttenbach's correspondence. 161 

When you write me next, my dear Matthiae, be so 
kind as to give me an account of yourself and of your 
situation, — whether you are a bachelor, or have a wife ; 
what is the state of your gymnasium, and that of the 
neighboring universities of Jena, Halle, and Leipsic. 
You know I have always taken an interest in the history 
of philosophy. I wish you would name some work that 
will present me a compendious view of the change in 
philosophy, which was begun by Kant, and then carried 
still further by Fichte and Schelling, and which, you say, 
in your preface, is a return to the Platonic system. By 
complying with this request, you would confer upon me a 
very great favor. 

WYTTENBACH TO FREDERIC CREUZER. 

Leyden, Sept. 16, 1808. 

Your letter has afforded me great pleasure, from the 
kind regards which you express towards me, and from 
the pleasing recollections of Our excellent common friend, 
Bang. I have just spoken of him, as among the number 
of deceased literary friends, in an article of the Bibliotheca 
Critica, immediately to be published, as if I had poured 
libations on his tomb, making mention, at the same time, 
of you, as once his pupil, but now an eminent scholar. * 

You have written to me so affectionately, and at such 
length, that it would require a volume to reply to the 
whole. What you relate of your youth, your whole life, 
and your studies, is very delightful to me, since it awakens 
a fresh recollection of the places where I, from the ninth 
to the twenty-second year of my age, passed my time in 
useful, and also in useless studies. I remember two 
brothers, by the name of Creuzer, the one a relation of 
Bang, the other a bookseller. Pray tell me which of 
these was your father. You are now transferred from 
Marburg to Heidelberg, where, as it respects the 
14* 



162 CLASSICAL STUDIES. 

enjoyments and conveniences of life, you will have every 
thing that you could desire. You have my best wishes 
that your present felicity may be long and uninterrupted. 
And yet, in these times, when every year brings with it 
neAv political changes, no one can tell what may hereafter 
be called his own. # * But I turn from the darkness 
which overshadows the future, to dwell on what is more 
pleasing, though past. I was happy to receive from you 
the letter of Ruhnken to the excellent Voss, to whom I 
beg you will return my sincere thanks. You call him 
your Voss, which I do not understand, unless it be that he 
has taken up his residence in Heidelberg. On this, and 
other matters of intelligence respecting the literary world 
in Germany, I desire you to write me. * * * In 
Griesbach, Schiitz, Beck, Hermann, and Tiedemann, in 
addition to Bang, you have certainly had the most 
learned and skilful teachers of the age. I would gladly 
have a colleague of this description ; for since becoming 
Ruhnken's successor, I have no one to associate with in 
my philological studies. By Ruhnken's intervention, 
Valckenaer's place was supplied by Luzac ; since whose 
tragical death, the vacant chair has been offered first to 
van Heusde, next to Huschke, of Rostock, and finally, 
to that Sluiter, mentioned in the last number of the 
Bibliotheca Critica. But whether he will accept the 
appointment is not yet known. Your Savigny appears 
to be the same individual who obtained a high reputation 
by his work on the Nature of Property. * # I never 
think of the present condition of learning in Germany 
without grief, especially when I see the fortunes of its 
great scholars ruined by the devastations of war. I 
lament the sad state of Hesse, once my country; though 
some suppose the new order of things will be better than 
the old, and it may be so. That atmosphere was never 
favorable to the promotion of classical learning. I well 



! 



wyttenbach's correspondence. 163 

remember, that when I was pursuing my philological 
studies alone in Marburg, men of the highest rank 
endeavored to dissuade me, saying that the study of 
Greek and Latin only made schoolmasters, and urged 
me to aim at something higher, — to some office in the 
government. 

WYTTENBACH TO CREUZER. 

Leyden, Feb. 15, 1809. 

We have at length, my dear Creuzer, brought the 
matter to a close, and you are ours. Meermann wrote to 
you to that effect on the very day of your appointment, 
but as his letter may possibly fail of reaching you, I 
have thought it safer that I should write to you also. 
The secretary will soon give you official notice. I beg 
you, say in reply, that you accept the office, and will 
appear as soon as possible, to deliver your inaugural 
discourse, and enter upon your duties. At the same 
time, request the curators to repay the expenses of your 
removal. Bring with you such furniture and clothing as 
you may need, or whatever you cannot dispose of without 
sacrifice. It is customary to allow 300 florins for a 
professor's removal, even from a neighboring city; you 
ought to have at least 600. If you have a faithful servant, 
bring him with you. After your arrival, you can see 
about a waiting-maid, and also select a house to your 
liking. We will provide a place for you, on your first 
arrival, at a good inn. The long vacation commences at 
the close of June. If you arrive in April, or May, as you 
probably will, you can, for the residue of the term, hold 
your lectures, once or twice a-week, in the philosophical 
room. My room having been injured by the shock 
which my house received, I have been driven to the 
country, except during the intervals between the lectures, 
which I go into the city to deliver. 



164 CLASSICAL STUDIES. 



WYTTENBACH TO AUGUSTUS BOCKH. 

Leyden, Jan. 26, 1810. 

Though our friend Moser will converse with you more 
fully upon the sentiments of affection which I cherish 
towards you, I could not consent to his leaving this 
place for Heidelberg, without carrying you a letter from 
me. I much regret his departure, for many reasons, but 
particularly because he could be of great service to you 
and other learned men abroad, in copying manuscripts 
from our library. Had his Heidelberg friends not 
snatched him from us, and could he have remained 
another year, I would gladly have prevailed upon him to 
undertake the same business for your, or rather our, 
Wolf, for whom I have long been seeking a competent 
copyist, but without success. I should have written you 
a letter of thanks without delay, for your work on Plato, 
which was sent me in your name four years ago, if I had 
known where to direct it. I could not, in any way, 
ascertain where you were, not even from Niemeyer, 
who was then in this place. I afterwards learned 
from Creuzer, that you had obtained a professorship in 
Heidelberg, and I requested him to greet you in my name 
most affectionately, and to assure you that I hold you in 
grateful remembrance for your favor. We are waiting 
impatiently for your Pindar. I pray you go on as you 
have begun, and add lustre to our studies. Be assured, 
no one can regard your fame and your labors with more 
favor than myself. 

WYTTENBACH TO HEYNE. 

Leyden, June 14, 1812. 
My dear Heyne, you have again given a signal proof of 
your love to me, by making me a foreign member of the 
Gottingen Eoyal Society. * * That distinction is so 



wyttenbach's correspondence. 165 

honorable to me, and your amiable and cordial letter so 
grateful to my feelings, that I do not remember any thing 
for a long time, which has delighted me so much. For 
age, though it weakens the love of honor, strengthens the 
feelings of friendship and love. This is particularly true 
of attachments to friends of long standing and of literary 
merit, — to which category you belong. * * * 

You are so kind as to make mention of my Phaedo ; — 
I am pleased that it meets your approbation. I have been 
told that it has been reviewed, — by yourself, no doubt, — 
and commended in your journal. Creuzer writes that 
Wolf is not so well pleased with it. I have given no just 
ground of offence to him or to his party. That I could 
not procure Ruhnken's papers for him, was not my fault, 
but the fault of the times. I take it easily, that they 
should soar sublime, by the higher criticism, as they call 
it, and look down with contempt upon us who walk on 
the earth. Two of my distinguished disciples have 
recently followed de Bosch to the grave. * * My eyes 
are still in a bad condition, one being dim, the other 
having a cataract. To this are added our domestic 
misfortunes, which, we fear, will be increased by the fall 
of Russia. (!) The incomes of our professorships are so 
reduced, that we have got to starve in good earnest, and 
are compelled to learn this virtue, which is a part of 
fortitude. " But, my dear Criton, let all these things be 
as is pleasing to the gods." Let us discharge our duties; 
let us take care of our health ; let us protect our fortunes 
and our lives, until our enemies shall be blown up. 



166 CLASSICAL STUDIES. 



WYTTENBACH TO A. H. NIEMEYER, CHANCELLOR OF THE 
UNIVERSITY OF HALLE. 

Leyden, Aug. 6, 1814. 

The parcel of three excellent books, with which I was 
honored by your literary society, I can easily imagine 
came from you. They recall, in an agreeable way, the 
visit which you made us eight years ago, and which, 
though short, greatly endeared you to us. What 
changes have we passed through since that time ! On 
your return, you found your country subdued by the 
conqueror who had long trampled us under his feet. 
When it seemed that all was lost, your fortitude so 
carried you through, that, in comparing your lot with 
that of others, you had nothing to regret in respect to 
your fortune or your honor. * * * The French are now 
out of the way, and may God long grant us this respite. 
Though I am deprived, by the state of my eyes, of all 
that has hitherto delighted me, — of study and reading, — 
yet I am sustained by this consideration, that we can 
now draw our breath freely, and that the prospect before 
us is brightening. 

J. C ADELUNG TO C G. SCHUTZ. 

Leipsic, Sept. 11, 1784. 

* * The proposal which you make, respecting the new 
Literary Journal, is too flattering for me to decline ; and 
I therefore take occasion to ask for particular information. 
If the department of literary history is unprovided for, I 
would be willing to undertake, in addition to the German 
language, at least a part of this. 

I have heard that there is an extensive collection of 
travels in the library of Professor Biittner, of Gottingen, 
which is now added to the Jena university library. 
Could I not, for a suitable compensation, procure a copy 



CORRESPONDENCE OF SCHUTZ. 167 

of so much of the catalogue as relates to these works ? 
I have for many years been making a collection of literary 
notices of all books of travels ; and since it is impossible 
to possess all these, I should like to know where any 
particular work may, in case of necessity, be found. 
Yours, etc. 

J. A. APEL TO SCHUTZ. 

Leipsic, Aug. 31, 1802. 
* * That our friend Hermann will, in all probability, 
obtain the professorship, vacated by the death of the 
younger Ernesti, is without doubt already known to you. 
The refusal of the first vacant place, given by the court 
of Dresden, it is hoped, is so recent, that no other man 
will be preferred to him. Besides him, Brehm and 
Carus, professors extraordinary in this place, have been 
proposed as candidates. I hear that Professor Eichstaedt 
has also offered himself. Is he in earnest ; or does he, 
as in billiards, expect to pocket the ball by a rebound ? 
Hermann sends his compliments : — he wonders that he 
has received no books to review. Neither have I received 
any ; and not being sure whether you wish to entrust to 
my hands the works of Schelling and others, mentioned 
in your first letter, I have done nothing. 

The Wittenbergers are making great preparations for 
their centennial celebration. They intend to distribute 
among the poor academical honors, instead of gold and 
silver. The poor in spirit will probably fare better than 
the poor in worldly goods. I fear that the doctor's hat 
will sit as ill on the jubilee doctors, as the livery on the 
servants who parade with their gracious masters. 



168 CLASSICAL STUDIES. 

F. J. BAST TO SCHUTZ. 

Vienna, Feb. 15, 1797. 

I was much gratified that you were so polite as to print 
my review of Xenophon, of Ephesus, without delay, and 
to send me two copies of the article. The editor of the 
work, to whom I delivered one of them, was highly 
pleased, and directed me to convey to you the expression 
of his particular respect. As you may not, perhaps, 
have a copy of this edition of Xenophon, — for the price is 
unreasonably high, — the Baron will wait on you with one 
at Easter. This Locella is one of the most excellent men 
of my acquaintance, and is a miracle of learning and of 
various knowledge. He never had a teacher in Greek, 
but commenced the study in 1778, because he met with 
Greek passages in Lessing which he could not understand, 
and which no one in this land of the Phaeacians could 
explain. 

I will, with the greatest pleasure, accept your invitation 
to contribute to your literary journal. In reply to your 
inquiry, I would say, that, in this place, where there are 
so many rich libraries, I can easily find all the editions 
which have appeared from the Bodoni press since 1785. 
Be so good as to mention those which have not yet been 
reviewed. I will soon send you a list of the philological 
works which have appeared here and in Italy. * * 
Were it not for the present war in Italy, Bodoni would, 
notwithstanding all my remonstrances, commence printing 
my Plato, and send the proof-sheets to this place for 
correction. * * * I Avill cheerfully comply with your 
request to examine the Vienna manuscripts of iEschylus. 



CORRESPONDENCE OF SCHUTZ. 169 



F. SCHOLL TO SCHUTZ. 

Paris, Nov. 16,1811. 
I feel it incumbent on me to convey to the teacher and 
friend of my friend, intelligence which Avill deeply affect 
him both as a man and a scholar. Our friend Bast is no 
more. On the evening of the 13th instant, after dining 
sparingly with a friend, he was seized, in the street, with 
the apoplexy, and instantly fell lifeless to the ground. 
When medical aid had arrived, no sign of life was to be 
discovered. Before that time, he appeared to enjoy 
excellent health. Yesterday we followed him to his 
grave, with a procession of the diplomatic body, and of 
the Institute. He had been laboring a year, without 
relaxation, upon his apparatus to Plato, for which he had 
collated all the manuscripts in Vienna and Paris. This 
apparatus is destined for the edition of Heindorf and Bockh. 
His papers are left in the finest order, and are neatly 
copied out. He was born in 1771, in Buchsweiler, in 
Lower Alsatia, where his father was for fifty years rector 
of the gymnasium. He died as counsellor to the Hessian 
Legation, knight of the Hessian Order, and corresponding 
member of the Institute. Be so kind as to publish this 
account in an improved form. 

IMMANTJEL BEKKER TO SCHUTZ. 

Berlin, June 8, 1816. 

I am, dear sir, under the greatest obligations to you for 
the friendly interest you take in my labors. The Plato 
does, indeed, belong to me alone. Wolf desires to wait 
for the edition of Weigel, that of Gaisford, and who 
knows how many others, before he, — as beseems the 
prince of critics, — caps the climax. That will he do, as 
certainly as he will finish his Homer, and his Hesiod, 
and his Cicero, and his Tacitus, and whatever else he 
15 



170 CLASSICAL STUDIES. 

begun and promised. But I never expect to see that 
day ; and must, therefore, cast in my mite, without delay, 
little concerned about the ostentatious announcement, 
which was made without my knowledge, when I was in 
Paris. The second part is more than half finished, and 
the third begun. The plan of the whole is so arranged, 
that the eight volumes, which are to contain the text, may 
be out within the space of about a year. To justify the 
text, or, at least, to enable the reader to form a correct 
opinion respecting it, I hope, in about as long a space 
after that, to publish my apparatus, which is now nearly 
ready, and which will consist of various readings, scholia, 
and extracts from unpublished commentaries, with precious 
little of my own. * * * 

AUGUSTUS BOCKH TO SCHUTZ. 

Heidelberg, Oct. 10, 1808. 

In order to revive in you the recollection of your friend, 
I send you a copy of my work on the Tragedians, which 
has just appeared. I desire that it may find the same 
favor with you which you were pleased to show to my 
first production. To me, at least, it seems to deserve 
equal regard, though I place, as I think, a moderate 
estimate upon it, and the more so, perhaps, because the 
printing has proceeded so slowly, that a great part of it has 
slipped from my memory. You will find, I hope, in the 
perusal, that I have every where taken pains not to carry 
my doubts to an extreme, and that I have always drawn 
the line distinctly between what is certain and what 
is mere conjecture, and what is still, and, unless neAV 
documents shall be discovered, must for ever remain 
undecided. You will get out of it very little to the purpose 
for your JEschylus. What I have said of him, especially 
the chronological discussions, must from the nature of the 
case, appear intricate ; and I fear most readers will be weary 



CORRESPONDENCE OF SCHUTZ. 171 

before reaching the end. My specimen of an edition of 
Timaeus, which I sent without any letter, through the 
booksellers, has, I hope, already reached you. How is 
it with your promised edition of Aristophanes, which 
interests me the more, as I design to interpret that writer 
in my lectures the coming winter. Do not delay too 
long, lest he should have the same reason to complain as 
JEschylus. 

BOCKH TO SCHUTZ. 

Berlin, Oct. 9, 1812. 

I ought long ago, my honored sir, to have acknowledged 
my obligations to you for the number of your Journal, 
containing a notice of my Simon Socraticus and other 
Platonic writings. I must now resort to your paper to 
expose the intrigue of a jealous reviewer, who has 
attacked me personally, in consequence, probably, of the 
projected edition of Plato, and who seems to have some 
ulterior ends in view. If the contents were not so 
wretched, I should suspect the author to be Wolf, who, 
in this, as well as in other things, is acting a shabby part, 
and whose unbridled selfishness will allow nothing good 
to rise, except what he originates. He has a special 
grudge against Heindorf and myself, on account of our 
Plato ; and the injustice, which he has done Heindorf, in 
a miserable article upon his Phaedo, deserves exposure. 
With me he is the more displeased, because the direction 
of the Philological Seminary has not fallen to him. But 
as he withdraws from all actual duties, and will not even 
act as an ordinary member of the Academy, the result is 
no more than might have been expected. 

In a few months, when the printing is finished, I shall 
take the liberty to send you a copy of my Pindar, as a 
token of the high respect, which your kind intercourse 
with me, from Halle to this place, inspired, and which I 



172 CLASSICAL STUDIES. 

shall never cease to cherish. I heg the continuance of 
your friendship, and the liberty to call myself, 

Yours, etc. 



K. A. BOTTIGER TO SCHUTZ. 

Weimar, Aug. 17, 1803. 

Being compelled, by private business, to go to Dresden 
next week, it is impossible for me, my respected friend, to 
call upon you in Jena. 

Great things are going on respecting you and your 
establishment. As Bertuch, who has just returned from 
Cassel, is in Rudolstadt, I do not know which way the 
scale will turn; whether in favor of Halle or of Wiirzburg. 
If I could look into the Amalthean scroll of Jupiter, I 
would cast my vote in favor of the fair Wiirzburg. Still, 
the Prussian eagle may lay before you such inducements, 
that you will prefer Halle. In that event, remember me, 
my dear friend, for Wiirzburg ; — confer with Paulus, and 
do what you think proper. I need not say, that this is a 
confidential intimation, committed to the bosom of a 
friend, and that I shall be far from offering myself any 
where. But is it not as allowable for me, as it was for 
Cicero, to desire " to be where I shall hear neither of the 
name, nor of the deeds of the Pelopidae " ? * * * 

BOTTIGER TO SCHUTZ. 

Dresden, Dec. 28, 1806. 

My dear friend, only three Avords. The excellent 
Reinhard says, "Assure your sensible and excellent 
friend," — these are the very words of Reinhard, — " that 
the project, of uniting the Leipsic paper with his, will be 
favored in every possible manner, provided good proposals 
can be made." * * The great apocalypse must soon 
be unsealed, and the destiny of Prussia decided. * * 



CORRESPONDENCE OF SCHUTZ. 173 

Thirty-eight wagons, each loaded with 40,000 rix dollars, 
in specie, crossed the bridge yesterday, as the first third of 
our contribution to Napoleon ! 

BOTTIGER TO SCHUTZ. 

Dresden, Jan. 3, 1808. 

My old and worthy friend, a thousand thanks for your 
letter, the carrier-pigeon, with its message of peace, which, 
under the most favorable omens, flew into my cell exactly 
on new-year's day. When, instead of the steel, the silver 
glitters again, we will strike a silver medal, on the face of 
which shall be placed the lyre of Apollo, with the words, 
suscitat tacentem, and on the reverse, a cased quiver, with 
the words, neque semper tendit. The restoration of the 
Halle university deserves a pa?an. Happy for you, if you 
can remain Jeromites. Happy every one who has already 
passed through the transformation. We Saxons are yet 
in the chrysalis state. But our turn will certainly come, 
and probably very soon. Be so kind as to forward me 
some good accounts. I cannot tell you how it troubled 
me, to think of your straying off to Berlin. Your journal 
could never nourish there. It must lie on the breast of a 
university town. Loder, Froriep, and all the exiles will 
undoubtedly return to Halle now. How will it be with 
Sprengel ? 

BOTTIGER TO SCHUTZ. 

Dresden, Jan. 24, 1808. 

My dear friend, my cordial thanks for your two 
welcome letters. How heartily do I sympathize with 
you in all your joy at the prospects of your resuscitated 
university ! But satisfy my mind on one point ; — whence 
are your funds to be obtained? Silesia withdraws its 
6000 rix dollars ; and where are the disposable funds of 
Westphalia? Father Heyne writes me that all the 
15* 



174 CLASSICAL STUDIES. 

universities of the new kingdom are to be continued, but 
are to depend on their own means ! I have just read 
confidential letters from high officers in Westphalia. "A 
kingdom of beggars " is the result of all. King Jerome 
certainly means well ; but can the higher power, which 
only takes, favor this ? 

To-morrow our two deputies go to Cassel, to lay upon 
the altar the fair cantles of Thuringia and those on the 
Elbe, which a single hapless stroke of the pen robbed us 
of. The condition of Saxony is by no means enviable. 
We have been so long clipped on all sides, and bled, 
that nothing will be left but water for the dropsy. The 
saddest accounts reach the consistory that the sources of 
their revenue are every where drying up. 

I have delivered the message and the letter to the 
excellent Bachmann. He will re-cast the review of 
Thurot's Excerpts, and write to you. I perceive my 
review of Millin is printed. May I repeat my request for 
two copies ? 1 must now husband every moment of time, 
in order to go on with my lectures on mythology, for 
which I have nothing collected, except what is in my head. 
At the close of each, I distribute printed sheets, for the 
purpose of review. I send you such as are already printed. 
They will need to be treated with great indulgence, being 
designed only for my hearers, among whom, however, I 
have the satisfaction of seeing two of our own ministers, 
two presidents, and six foreign ambassadors, Bourgoing 
himself at their head. I have determined to publish all 
these in a fuller and more exact form, as the second part 
of my Outlines of Lectures on Archaeology. I beg you to 
make faithful strictures on these. The remainder shall 
be sent to you. Where could I find a more instructive 
oracle? # # # 



CORRESPONDENCE OF SCHUTZ. 175 



BOTTIGER TO SCHUTZ. 

Dresden, March 23, 1812. 

Professor Jacob, a bold champion of science from among 
you, has just brought me your salutation, my noble old 
friend. It does me good to learn that you continue to 
act so stoutly and vigorously. The old experienced 
helmsman, then, still knows how, in spite of all the 
sand-banks and custom-houses, to keep the literary ship 
afloat, and to fill it with a precious lading ! That is a 
master-piece. Not to despair in these times, is heroism. 
If we all could become one kingdom, — and that is near at 
hand, — all the barriers between us must be thrown down. 

It gives me pain to hear that Griesbach is very feeble, 
and apparently near his end. What shall we do, when 
such " pillars of the church " fall ? Our Eeinhard also 
continues to be dangerously ill. Has Griesbach no where 
written an account of his studies, and of his literary 
history? When was he in England? and at whose 
expense ? 

BOTTIGER TO SCHUTZ. 

Dresden, April 5, 1812. 
Truly, my friend, the university of Jena, New Testament 
criticism, humanity, and the manly German character, 
have met with an irreparable loss in Griesbach's death. 
After learning his decease, through Bachmann, who was 
justly honored with the confidence of Griesbach, and of 
your excellent sister, I turned at once to your dedicatory 
epistle to him, prefixed to your edition of Cicero de 
Oratore. That is a monument "among the living" to his 
honor and your own. I made use of that in an obituary 
notice, which, in the first gush of my feelings, I prepared 
for the Leipsic Journal. 



176 CLASSICAL STUDIES. 



BOTTIGER TO SCHUTZ. 

Dresden, Feb. 28, 1813. 

My old and valued friend, father Wieland, is also 
gone. In Osmanstadt will the nightingales long carol 
their vernal songs over his triple mound; hut our 
degenerate age will peck and chatter, like mock- 
birds, around the poet's crown. I have placed in the 
accompanying inscription for him, the words, Immortuus 
est Ciceroni. He had finished his translation of Cicero's 
Letters, except the last book. I am commissioned by the 
publisher to request you to complete that work. * * * 
You are the man. Write me by return of post. Any 
other literary labor, — for you certainly have several on the 
anvil, — may wait. The manes of Wieland demand these 
libations of you. * * * 

BOTTIGER TO SCHUTZ. 

Dresden, March 15, 1814. 

# # # The fate of Wittenberg goes near my heart. 
The poor professors are mostly in exile in Schmeideberg. 
The villages belonging to the university are in ashes. 
The professors have no income, and no students. The 
Prussian soldiers, who are garrisoned there, say openly 
Wittenberg is to be a part of Prussia. I have written to 
Herbert Marsh, requesting him to open in Oxford and 
Cambridge a subscription to support the chair of Luther. 
* * * My removal from the Page Institute, now extinct, 
to the Knights' Academy causes me much labor. But I 
ought to thank God that my former salary is continued. 

You say not a word of the state of your university, 
though strange reports respecting it are in circulation. 
The noble spirit of your generous monarch will not suffer 
the Fredericiana to starve. You do not say whether you 



CORRESPONDENCE OF SCHUTZ. 177 

can complete Wieland's translation of Cicero's Letters. 
Gesner is dead. Who has taken up the business ? I 
have no further accounts from Zurich. 

BOTTIGER TO SCHUTZ. 

Dresden, June 5, 1815. 

* # # ]yiy f a t e i s s till undecided. Should the Knights' 
Academy be suspended, I shall be set entirely adrift. 
And with the present unavoidable reaction, there is a 
strong probability that it will be so. In your next, assure 
me, if you can, that my sentiments, as contained in my 
former letters to you, will induce your high-minded king 
to give me some appointment, if the Knights' Academy, 
on account of its too hasty organization, should go down. 
Dresden needs living interpreters of its treasures of art, to 
draw strangers here. Perhaps some use may be made of 
this hint. Quick. 

The minister von Biilow, and many of the officers of 
the Prussian government, have loudly declared themselves 
hostile to Humboldt's child, the Berlin university, and 
predict its speedy dissolution. At any rate, the Wittenberg 
funds will come to you. The best of the Wittenberg 
professors will be transferred to Leipsic, which will 
probably undergo a thorough reform. But you are not 
deficient in excellent teachers. Politz writes me, that 
the Saxon provinces, now given up to Prussia, will take 
from Saxony about 400 students. That would be a fine 
addition for Halle. Write me what is said among you 
on this subject. How many students remain with you? 
and how many lectures are actually read ? * * * 

A. B. CAILLARD TO SCHUTZ. 

Berlin, Dec. 27, 1796. 

* * * Since your iEschylus has fallen into my hands, 
I have closed my Stanley, and have wished to read no 



178 CLASSICAL STUDIES. 

edition but yours. I have had the happiness to see, that 
in your readings, you have confirmed many of my 
conjectures, and I cannot express how much I have 
felt myself flattered to see my judgment confirmed by 
that of a man like you. But I am disheartened at seeing 
only four of the seven plays of so great a tragedian 
comprised in two volumes, the last of which, dating 1784, 
makes me fear, on account of the long time passed since 
its appearance, that you have abandoned a work which 
does you such honor. * * * English scholars have told 
me, — and I can easily believe them, — that your edition 
is in the highest estimation among them. The Greek 
scholars of Paris, of whom there are yet some remaining, 
are all agreed as to the excellence of your edition. * * 

CAILLARD TO SCHUTZ. 

Paris, June 26, 1801. 

It is now several months since I received the beautiful 
volume of vEschylus, which you have done me the honor 
to dedicate to me ; and I expected that you would have 
received my grateful acknowledgements long ago ; for I 
prepared a reply within a few days after receiving the 
volume from my friend Millin, and see what has 
happened. * # * I have collected in my library many old 
editions of this author, and have lately added the edition 
of Porson, whom I hope to see here as soon as peace shall 
render the journey safe. * * If some happy circumstance 
should bring you to Paris, be assured you would find 
yourself among your friends. Our society is not very 
extensive, but you would see among those who compose 
it persons worthy of your attention. Besides Du Theil, 
le Chardon la Rochette, Corai, Sainte Croix, and others, 
whom you know already, you would find a young 
magistrate, my particular friend, and the friend of 
Humboldt, who will certainly speak to you of him. It is 



CORRESPONDENCE OF SCHUTZ. 179 

Clavier, of the school of Corai, from whom an edition of 
Pausanias, with a translation and very interesting critical 
and historical notes, is expected. He has already shown 
me some of his emendations, which are remarkably just 
and simple. I wish he might collect them and put them 
into the form of a critical epistle, addressed to you, or to 
some of your eminent colleagues. In Germany he would 
meet with success ; but here one must be " satisfied with 
few readers." For a long time a taste for Greek literature 
has ceased to be the prevailing taste of France. For 
if, on the one hand, the first consul has called for a 
translation of Strabo, and entrusted the execution to three 
eminent scholars, Du Theil, Corai, and Gosselin, our 
first geographer, and a worthy successor of D'Anville, a 
new edition of Xenophon, on the other hand, in Greek, 
Latin and French, has been given over to professor Gail, 
who is executing it with great typographical splendor, 
at the expense of the government. You will see its 
appearance before long, and von Humboldt will speak to 
you of it. We strongly recommend this edition to the 
particular attention of the editor of the Universal Literary 
Journal, begging him, in the mean time, not to judge of 
us by this scintillation ; for that would be severe. * * 

F. CREUZER TO SCHUTZ. 

Heidelberg, March 13, 1308. 
Your letter, my much respected friend, with the 
accompanying programme of the course of lectures, was, 
to me, a truly joyful sight. Convinced, as I am, that the 
universities are the pillars of German science and culture, 
as the whole history of literature goes to show, I must 
welcome every indication of their continued existence. I 
congratulate you, therefore, on the appearance of your 
programme, which you have prepared with such a 
valuable and appropriate introduction. It is truly an 



180 CLASSICAL STUDIES. 

inspiring thought which you have expressed in the 
words : " We have fallen upon those times, which teach 
us by the most impressive examples, that our prosperity 
cannot come from without, — that we can rely upon 
nothing but our own virtue." I thank you heartily, my 
honored friend, for the present you have made me with 
the preface, and desire nothing more earnestly than that 
the joy of future prosperity may efface from your memory 
the bitterness of the past. * * * 

CREUZER TO SCHCJTZ. 

Heidelberg, Dec. 8, 1309. 

A few days ago, my dear friend, I entertained myself 
with reading your elegant Eulogy of Johannes von 
Miiller ; and I resolved, on the spot, no longer to delay 
informing you of my return to the German soil. First of 
all, my dear friend and teacher, I tender you my thanks 
for the gratification and instruction which the perusal of 
this most valuable memorial of the departed Miiller has 
afforded me. As you have here discussed the historical 
art, and the merits of Miiller as a historian, it was well to 
prefix your memoir to the new edition of his works. 
Learned foreigners, in particular, who are so seldom 
acquainted with the German, will be doubly thankful for 
this representation of so distinguished a master of the 
historical art. I wish you would make up your mind to 
enlarge this memoir. Both the character of the work, 
and its pure Latinity make me desire it. 

But you will ask, what brought you back so soon from 
Holland? The answer is short, — climate and mode of 
living. The world of water was not the world for me. 
* * * My relations to my colleagues were agreeable, and 
the natural good-humor of the Dutch made a favorable 
impression upon my mind. Especially must I mention 
the friendly attentions of professor Wyttenbach, who did 



CORRESPONDENCE OF SCHUTZ. 



181 



every thing to render my situation agreeable, and who 
was the chief agent in procuring my appointment. But 
when my physician, a man of experience and skill, 
himself advised me to return to my native German soil, 
and mountain air, Wyttenbach was very active to secure 
me against pecuniary loss. It is to him that I am most 
indebted, not only for an allowance for the expense of my 
return, but for my whole salary during the five months 
of my residence there. Meermann, also, the general 
superintendent of education in Holland, is animated by 
the noblest spirit, and has done very handsomely by me. 
He would gladly see the German system of education 
adopted in Holland, and the Dutch universities modified 
and conformed to the German. But he finds strong 
opposition in the nation, and even among the curators 
and many professors. The curator Jerome de Bosch is 
a fine fellow, a very lively, ardent man, at the same time 
good-hearted and liberal. Both he and Meermann 
possess excellent libraries. My relations in Heidelberg 
are exactly to my mind. The professorship of eloquence, 
which had been given to professor Bockh, is retained 
by him. But I have the direction of the Philological 
Seminary. I do not resume my connection with the 
Heidelberg Journal; the correspondence, occasioned by 
it, was too great an interruption. In other respects, 
except that I lecture also on the history of literature, I 
enter upon my former labors. * * As to my successor at 
Leyden, nothing is yet settled. I have tried to persuade 
Martyni-Laguna to become a candidate for the office. He 
would be a valuable acquisition to Leyden ; but I doubt 
whether he can be induced to leave Germany. 
16 



182 CLASSICAL STUDIES. 



CREUZER TO SCHUTZ. 

Heidelberg, May 7, 1810. 

Of your continued good health I have received pleasing 
accounts from your sister and her husband, the worthy 
Griesbach, who called upon me here. Conversation with 
these pleasant travellers carried me hack afresh to those old 
times when I was so often at your house in Jena. The 
Griesbach family have chosen a delightful spring for their 
journey. You ought to follow this good example, and 
make an excursion with your family into the south of 
Germany. The spring is the season to visit Heidelberg, — 
in the winter it is dismal. The good accounts which we 
hear of your university, seem to promise you better times, 
in which one may think again of tours of pleasure. 

As to myself, I am, in all respects, happy to be 
here again. Neither the climate, nor the present state 
of Holland, would have made me contented. Even 
Wyttenbach, if he were younger, would hardly remain 
there. He justifies my course, and regards me as 
fortunate in having returned to Germany. My health, 
which was very uncertain in Holland, is confirmed again, 
and my sphere of action is continually enlarging. To all 
this is added a pleasant relation with my colleagues, 
which renders my return doubly pleasant. 

Under these circumstances, the attempt of Eichstaedt, 
in the Jena Literary Gazette, to annihilate me here, is 
without effect, and I have not the least disposition to 
waste my time in replying to him, though it were easy 
to unmask his intrigues and those of his party. * * * 
The younger Voss has gained no hearers by it, and I 
have lost none. I remain on good terms with him as a 
colleague. 



CORRESPONDENCE OF SCHUTZ. 183 



H. C. A. EICHSTAEDT TO SCHUTZ. 

Leipsic, Aug. 6, 1795. 

*• * The situation, in which the death of my father has 
left me, renders it impossible for me to prosecute my 
plans, as university teacher, any longer here. A residence 
of many years in Leipsic, and my own experience, have 
taught me, that the way in this university which shall 
lead to success, or even the appearance of it, will be long 
and circuitous enough to dishearten the most determined. 
* * * I know not how it is, respected sir, that I come to 
cherish the hope, that you may be able to point out for 
me a sphere of labor which I cannot find here. * * Any 
occupation which shall bring me nearer to my object, — 
any office for which I am qualified, would be acceptable 
to me, but none more so, and perhaps I may add, none 
for which I am better prepared, than that of university 
teacher. Were it possible for me, through your kind 
intervention, to come to Jena, with a moderate support 
for the present, but with some prospects for the future, it 
would be more than I could hope, and all that I could 
desire. * * * 

EICHSTAEDT TO SCHUTZ. 

Leipsic, Jan. 3, 1797. 
Most honored sir, — I know not whether I am under 
greater obligations to you for the gratifying intelligence 
which your last letter conveys, or for the kind feelings 
with which it is done, and the interest you generally 
manifest in my affairs. * * * It is not probable that any 
hindrances will, at Dresden, be laid in the way of my 
leaving. The worthy president Zedtwitz, and Keinhard, 
the king's chaplain, both of whom are my most cordial 
friends, can effect but little, and can offer me no 
equivalent, when a good place shall be proposed to me. 



184 CLASSICAL STUDIES. 

The Superintendent Tittmann, who was so favorable to 
my accepting the invitation to Thorn, will grant me his 
benediction, especially as my departure will leave more 
room for his son. * * * 



J. G. GRTJBER TO SCHUTZ. 

Weimar, June 14, 1810. 

My much respected friend, — It is now more than six 
weeks since I wrote to Bremen, and I have not received a 
word of reply. What other conclusion can I draw, than 
that I am not at all thought of for that place ? And yet I 
have never needed a place so much as now. Permit me, 
then, in my distress, to make a request of you. If, 
within a few weeks, a review, which should not be 
altogether unfavorable, of my Aesthetical Dictionary, 
should appear, — and such a review I think it deserves, — 
it might be the means of securing my fortune. Will you 
not, my dear sir, see that such a favor is done to your 
poor friend, within the time specified ? My hope hangs 
entirely on you; and I will make every effort to show 
you my gratitude for such a favor. * * * 

GRUBER TO SCHUTZ. 

Naumberg, July 6, 1810. 
The place from which this letter is dated, will show 
you that I am no longer in Weimar. I must tell you that 
I shall never return to that place. * * I will make no 
complaints. After disposing of all my furniture, and a 
part of my books, in order to obtain a little quiet, I 
resolved to remove to Dresden, where I could prosecute 
my studies with less anxiety and with less expense, and 
where I could hope to earn — my bread. Having heard 
nothing from Bremen, I resolved, as it would be less 
expensive, to stop here two months. Now I learn that I 



CORRESPONDENCE OF SCHUTZ. 1S5 

have been nominated to the vacant professorship of logic 
and metaphysics in Wittenberg, and I must, therefore, 
wait and see how Providence will dispose of me. The 
review of my Dictionary, which you have kindly promised, 
might, at this juncture, be of great service to me, " which 
may God grant." 

GRtTBER TO SCHUTZ. 

Wittenberg, July 6, 1811. 
Finally — finally — finally, Heaven be thanked, I can 
freely breathe ; and the first quiet moment is due to you, 
the man whom I honor and love as I do few others. * * 



GRUBER TO SCHUTZ. 

Wittenberg, April 6, 1812. 

* * Pardon me, if I tell you what I hear in various 
places respecting your journal. There is an almost 
universal complaint of a deficiency in theological reviews. 
If you are in want of contributors, I can mention some, 
who would certainly be an honor to your establishment ; 
professors Schott, Winzer, and Heubner. The first, for 
theological literature ; the second, for the philosophy of 
religion, and the interpretation of the Old Testament; and 
the third, who has declined an invitation to Konigsberg, 
for systematic and polemic theology, and for the history 
of Christian doctrines, and of religion in general. In our 
Lobeck, you would find an admirable reviewer of works 
on philology; in Politz, one very good in European 
statistics, the history of the Middle Ages and of modern 
times. Several of these persons furnish much good 
matter for the Jena and Leipsic papers ; but I know that 
they would do better still for you. Ascribe all that I have 
here said, to my deep interest in the continued prosperity 
of your Literary Journal. 
16* 



186 CLASSICAL STUDIES. 



G. HERMANN TO SCHUTZ. 

Leipsic, March 12, 1796. 
In preparing the book, which I now take the liberty, my 
dear sir, to send you, I have had you alone in mind ; and 
my only wish has been, that it might meet with your 
approbation. * * * 

HERMANN TO SCHUTZ. 

Leipsic, Jan. 31, 1799. 
Respected sir, together with the Clouds of Aristophanes, 
the stern Eumenides venture to appear before you. You 
will wonder at my boldness and rapidity; but since the 
way in these untrodden regions was opened by you, the 
study of iEschylus has been my favorite employment. 
This mighty genius has enchained and enkindled my 
soul. His strains sound in my ear like a battle-shout 
from the field of Marathon ; and, in the enthusiasm of the 
moment, many a time I fancy that I unriddle the deep 
sense of his dark words. I feel as if I were myself a poet; 
what I have found I cannot keep to myself. If the work 
can abide a severe scrutiny; if it can endure yours, which 
I most desire, I shall be inexpressibly happy. If it should 
fail of this, my love of truth, which, if not innate, must 
have been instilled into me by my invaluable teacher, 
Reiz, would render it easy to acknowledge my errors. 
For, to acknowledge an error, is to see the point whence 
progress is to be made ; to defend it, is to retreat. If you 
will have the goodness to gratify me with your valuable 
opinion, you will thereby greatly increase the obligation 
and the affection with which I shall never cease to be 
yours. 



CORRESPONDENCE OF SCHUTZ. 187 



HERMANN TO SCHUTZ. 

Leipsic, July 3, 1300. 

I hasten, respected sir, to render you double thanks, 
partly for the kind present of your new iEschylus, and 
partly for the honorable manner in which you have often 
spoken of my conjectures. I have been extremely gratified, 
that what I often desired in the first edition, namely, 
a translation by you, is supplied in this. For, in 
such a writer as iEschylus, especially in the choruses, 
nothing is more important in aiding the reader to make 
out the true sense, than the order and connection of the 
ideas. Permit me one wish, and that is, that, in line 420 
of Prometheus, my conjecture may displease you. I 
have myself abandoned it, as well as two others in the 
Eumenides, which Huschke has disproved. * * 

HERMANN TO SCHUTZ. 

Leipsic, Dec. 17, 1806. 

Most honored sir, — Lucretius is mistaken, when he says, 
" It is pleasant to see another's perils ;" for the reason 
which he assigns, "because you are safe from them," falls 
away now. It should read, " because they also threaten 
you." Believe me, the calamity which has befallen you 
deeply affects my heart. Here and there a wretched 
creature is spared ; why just this ? It is an evil time, 
when justice cannot be expected, even by accident. 
However, I admire your boldness. As for myself, I 
firmly believe, that " lofty towers fall with a heavier 
crash." Things cannot remain as they now are. But of 
this hereafter. Accept my hearty thanks for the beautiful 
present you have made me. I value the Glasgow edition 
twenty groats, according to its intrinsic worth ; for many 
of its emendations are such as Porson would not care to put 
his name to. Still, as I wish to know what fancies took the 



188 CLASSICAL STUDIES. 

Glasgow editor, and as my collection on iEschylus is 
tolerably complete, I willingly send you the twenty rix 
dollars, which it cost. * * * 

C D. ILGEN TO SCHUTZ. 

Schul Pforta, Aug. 12, 1803. 

My dear friend, if the professors continue to leave Jena 
at the present rate, I shall take care not to go there again. 
I should be obliged to exclaim, as Eeiz did, when he came 
to Leipsic, and first walked through the fields, " a barren 
land. Selah." * * * 

Pro Deum, popularium, adolescentium, postulo, clamo, 
oro, obsecro, ploro atque imploro fidem, who prepared that 
terrific article on Heyne ? If there be an Bias post 
Homerum, it is this review after the manner of Wolf. It 
must have had more than one bard for its author, or if but 
one, he must have been possessed of all the demons of 
Homeric learning. * * I beg you, unravel to me the 
mystery. 

F. JACOBS TO SCHUTZ. 

Gotha, Sept. 26, 1803. 
The important matter of your change of residence is 
finally settled. I heartily wish you all happiness and 
contentment. But how disagreeable, how painful must 
such a change be, in present circumstances, and amidst so 
many intrigues ! For all the benefits which have accrued 
to the university from your journal, you have drawn upon 
yourself anger and ingratitude. And why? Because 
you would not sacrifice yourself to the university, which 
has nothing to do with your paper. An attempt is indeed 
made to persuade the public that it is not so ; and there 
are persons who are ignorant enough of such matters, to 
suppose that you were appointed professor in Jena, to 
edit a journal. * * I think it is incumbent on you to 



CORRESPONDENCE OF SCHUTZ. 189 

make a strong appeal to the public, showing that the 
new paper, in Jena, is not the continuation of the Literary 
Journal, which is wholly your own property, and which 
no one, without the greatest injustice, can wrest from you. 

JACOBS TO SCHUTZ. 

Gotha ; Jan. 1, 1804. 

* * You are, by this time, probably, quite at home in 
Halle ; — at least, the chief difficulties of such a change 
must be, by this time, overcome. I hope you find every 
thing to your satisfaction, and that your life in Halle will 
be as happy as it was in Jena. I send you herewith a 
review of the Athenaeus, which I hope will be to your 
mind. Whether Schweighaiiser will be satisfied with it, 
I do not know. The good man knows next to nothing 
of metre and of Atticism, and has, therefore, fallen into 
innumerable blunders, which I could not pass without 
notice. I have generally pointed them out in an indirect 
way. * * * 

JACOBS TO SCHUTZ. 

Gotha ? Nov. 9, 1806. 

* * * Since the battle which was lost at the gates of 
Halle, and even in the city itself, I have had no rest. * * 
Write me, my dear friend, in a few words, how it is with 
you and yours ; — whether Niemeyer, Vater, or Wolf, has 
suffered. * * * 

JACOBS TO SCHUTZ. 

Gotha, Aug. 10, 1807. 

A thousand thanks for your kind and friendly letter, 
and for the affectionate interest you take in my affairs. 
* * # It is true, proposals of a very flattering character 
from Munich, have been made to me ; but you know how 
painful it is to me to think of removing. * * * Nothing 



190 CLASSICAL STUDIES. 

could be more pleasant to me, than that you and your 
journal should be transferred to Munich, and that we, 
per varios casus, should be brought together in one place. 
Keep this thought in mind, if your prospects fail in 
Prussia. What will Wolf do ? Is there any thing for 
him in Berlin ? Does he not regret that he declined the 
call from Bavaria ? Is it too late now ? If he would like 
the place in the Academy of Sciences, it is plain that he 
ought to have it, not I. The child's song is applicable 
here ; regnum, quod recte facientibus esset. The recte 
facientes, in this case, are ii qui sapiunt, the Wolfii, 
Schiltzii, et siqui horuvi sunt similes. * * 

JACOBS TO SCHUTZ. 

Munich, March 5, 1808. 
My dear friend, you have anticipated me in your kind 
and friendly remembrance, for which I heartily thank 
you. * * I find myself in a new world. The difference 
between Catholic and Protestant Germany is greater than 
one at a distance would think. The literary zeal here is 
feeble compared with what it is with us at the north. * * 
Classical literature is quite prostrate, and all regard for it 
discouraged. Still the youth are not wholly unsusceptible 
to its influence, and I hope I shall be able to revive a 
taste for these studies. But it will require patience. 
The unexpected restoration of the Halle university gives 
me great joy. * * * You and your journal will probably 
now remain there. May heaven soon grant us better 
times, and richly make up to you all your losses and 
sufferings. 

JACOBS TO SCHUTZ. 

Gotha, March 17, 1811. 
The attempt at assassination made upon Thiersch, has, 
indeed, deeply affected me. He was almost daily with 



CORRESPONDENCE OF SCHUTZ. 191 

me in my house in Munich, and we were to the last on 
terms of the greatest intimacy. After my return, he took 
my place in the Lyceum ; and since then he has, with 
great spirit and success, conducted the Philological 
Seminary which I commenced. * * * 

JACOBS TO SCHUTZ. 

Gotha, Jan. 7, 1812. 

What do you say to the fragment of the Acharnians, 
which Wolf has published, with bitter observations upon 
the coterie of Voss ? The rupture must now be considered 
as decisively made. It pains my heart to see such strife 
and dissension among scholars. It cannot do otherwise 
than diminish respect for learning, and, consequently, 
place obstacles in the way of those who are laboring for 
the best interests of humanity. 

JACOBS TO SCHUTZ. 

Gotha, Dec. 6, 1812. 
* * The manner in which the younger Voss has 
reviewed the Acharnians in the Heidelberg Annals, is, in 
itself, just and honorable, though I think Wolf is not 
treated according to his merits. That Voss should speak of 
Wolf as a young student, who is laboring hard, and giving 
promise of final success, the latter will never forgive. * * 
Wolf's Latin translation of the Platonic dialogues appears 
to me most excellent, and if he goes, in this way, to the 
end, he will certainly have a right to a distinguished- 
wreath. Buttmann writes me, that the edition of Plato, 
by Bockh and Heindorf, will not be given up on account 
of Wolf's. It is said that the Gottingen professorship 
has been offered to Gurlitt, but that he has declined it. I 
think it will have to be given to a young man. Is not 
Lobeck competent to it? His learned dissertation, de 
Morte Bacchi, shows that he is something more than a 



192 CLASSICAL STUDIES. 

grammarian. I hear favorable accounts, also, of his 
character. 

SCHUTZ TO JACOBS. 

Jena, Jan. 11, 1802. 
Nothing for a long time has given me so much pleasure, 
as the information that your call to Kiel, has brought you 
500 rix dollars additional salary. Heaven bless your 
duke for it, and let you enjoy, to your latest days, 
this well-merited reward. As you did not accept the 
appointment, there may be an opening here for our friend 
Eichstaedt. You will do me and him a great favor, if 
you will mention the name of the minister, and of other 
persons to be applied to. * * To-morrow, the post will 
carry six louis d'or to you, as an extraordinary premium 
voted you for your services in the Journal. I wish I 
could make them sixty. But the state of our reserve 
funds, from which alone such rewards can be drawn, will 
not allow it ; and I must beg you to keep this a secret. 
Not to mention that all reviews are not up to Jacobs, even 
if they were, we should be able at present to grant 
premiums to but very few; and if this should lead to 
jealousies, the practice must be given up wholly. * * 

SCHUTZ TO JACOBS. 

Halle, Sept. 22, 1812. 
My dear friend, I know not whether you have received 
my first long letter, in which I urged you to accept 
the call to Gottingen, and endeavored to remove your 
objections. I sent it by way of Leipsic. On the receipt 
of your review of Bast, I sent you a second, by way of 
Weimar. This is the third ; and I write, in consequence 
of what a student, just from Gottingen, related to me, 
namely, that you had been actually appointed, but that 
fears were entertained that you would hardly come. He 



CORRESPONDENCE OF SCHUTZ. 



193 



informed me, also, that Mitscherlich could not expect that 
professorship, and that Wunderlich was your pupil; — 
he, therefore, cannot complain. In short, I thought you 
would accept the place, diis hominibusque approbantibus, 
unless you have other objections than those you mentioned 
to me. * * * 

SCHUTZ TO JACOBS. 

Halle, Sept. 28, 1812. 
My respected and dear friend, — I have read your letter 
with mingled feelings of pleasure and pain, and sit 
down without delay, to attempt to lead you to a different 
conclusion. * * I can think of only the following 
objections to your accepting. 1. The envy which will be 
excited among the established philological professors in 
the university. None but Mitscherlich, however, could 
cherish such feelings, and he is said to be free from envy. 
Wunderlich must be a strange fellow, indeed, if he should 
feel injured by your appointment. As the government 
will undoubtedly appoint a man from abroad, no one 
can be more acceptable to the professors than yourself. 
2. The inconceivable, I had almost said, the unpardonable, 
diffidence you have in your own powers. This I could 
not comprehend when I desired you to come to Jena. 
But since then, how many years have passed, and how 
much reputation have you justly earned ! * * What 
part of that professorship can give you the least anxiety ? 
Public speaking in the lectures ? Certainly not. Heyne 
himself, it is said, was no model in public speaking ; he 
was discursive, unconnected, and his voice was interrupted 
by a frequent hemming. But you know all this better 
than I, who have never heard him. Speaking in Latin ? 
What great use is made of that ? I could never think of 
such a difficulty, at least in you, had you yourself not 
17 



194 CLASSICAL STUDIES. 

mentioned it as an objection to coming to Jena. The 
lectures before the Society, and the Programms ? Of the 
former, you have delivered many in Munich; and the 
latter will be no great jugglery to you. 

G. SCHAFEK. TO SCHUTZ. 

Leipsic ; Feb. 11, 1808. 

Very dear sir, — I have designedly put off writing thus far 
in reply to your kind letter. I would gladly delay longer 
yet, were it not for the apprehension that you might take 
it ill. What I have now to say is not cheering. But 
with painful impatience I am expecting every hour to 
learn something very cheering. Why does the carrier 
delay? Surely I have been tortured sufficiently long. 
The intelligence from Gotha was only half true. Without 
my knowledge, the noble and venerable Heyne, moved 
by the accounts which a third person had given him of 
me and my university relations, employed his whole 
influence Avith youthful zeal to procure me a place in 
Gotha. It was believed in Gotha, that every thing was 
already secured for me there, when my dear old friend, 
Eichstaedt — upset the matter. I am now informed that 
the place will be left vacant for the present. But the 
failure of the project did not discourage the venerable 
Heyne. He proposes another way. A week ago I 
received from him a letter of high import, which is now 
in Dresden, producing its effect. Yesterday, I suppose, 
the matter was discussed in council; — God grant that 
the discussions may have led to a happy result. I hope 
something good from this ; never were the circumstances 
so favorable. Bottiger, also, is doing what he can for 
me. As soon as I learn the result, I will write you. 
Now what say you of Heyne ? I repeat it, Avithout my 
knowledge, without being requested, connected directly 



CORRESPONDENCE OF SCHUTZ. 195 

with me in no way whatever, he is exerting himself for 
me under the greatest difficulties, and in the midst of 
bodily sufferings. So writes one from abroad, who, as a 
spectator, has observed the course things have taken, and 
must have searched Eichstaedt's tricks to the very bottom. 
"What an eve closes this busy life ! Perhaps I can by 
to-morrow write something more pleasant. Farewell, 
my dear friend, and continue to favor me with your 
good-will. 

SCHAFER TO SCHUTZ. 

Leipsic, March 25, 1808. 

I have received official notice from Dresden, that 
I have been appointed professor extraordinarius of 
philosophy, with a salary of 150 rix dollars, and that, 
besides this a bounty of 100 rix dollars has been granted 
me. The day after the official notice was sent, the 
members of the larger Royal College proceeded to the 
choice of a successor of the excellent Hindenburg. The 
impression already made at Dresden, operated in my 
favor to such a degree, that there was a tie in the vote 
between me and a competitor. Lots were cast, and I 
was the lucky one. Thus, as if by the stroke of a magic 
wand, I am pushed forward into new connections, which 
enable me to hope for a different and a more pleasant 
life. I can now calculate upon a salary of about 450 
rix dollars, provided the choice of the college should 
be confirmed by the king, of which there is a strong 
probability. And still the choice of professor Clodius 
in the place of Seidlitz, made in January, is not yet 
confirmed. If you say any thing of my sudden change 
to a better condition, I beg you, to add every time, that 
I am indebted for this happiness to that venerable old 
man in Gottingen. Before this scholar I bow with 



196 CLASSICAL STUDIES. 

profound respect. A miserable trade of words is all our 
study, even with a Bentley's acuteness, or a Porson's 
nicety, if it does not ennoble whatever is human in us. 
That I think of you, with the most sacred attachment, 
my dear sir, whenever I think of Heyne, I need not 
assure you, who have more than once looked into my 
heart. 

SCHAFEE TO SCHUTZ. 

Leipsic, Dec. 1, 1811. 
The melancholy intelligence of Bast's death I had also 
already received from Scholl, last Tuesday. how 
deeply is my heart smitten by this event ! 

Multis ille bonis flebilis occidit, 
Nulli flebilior quam mibi! 

His last letter to me was dated November 2d, full 
of unsurpassed kindness, as were all his letters ; and I 
was just on the point of replying, as this startling news 
reached me. Our studies have lost much, very much 
in him ; and I more than can be expressed. I had 
succeeded in gaining his entire confidence. Through me, 
and in connection with me, as it seemed, he designed to 
communicate all his literary treasures to the public. A 
beginning was to be made with the unpublished Greek 
lexicons, printing to commence the present winter. With 
what an exuberance of excellent remarks could I have 
filled them out, inasmuch as the papers of my friend 
would have been at my service. All this is now but 
the " shadow of a dream." For what fortunes will his 
collections meet with? This thought gives me great 
uneasiness. If he had had only one hour, one single 
hour of consciousness after the shock, I know what 
disposition he Avould have made of them. In order to 



CORRESPONDENCE OF SCHUTZ. 197 

save what could be saved, I wrote immediately to Paris, 
requesting that those valuable papers might be entrusted 
to my charge, and referring to our correspondence in 
support of my claim. Will it be of any use ? Can you 
do any thing ? The heir is a brother, with whom I have 
no acquaintance. Perhaps Scholl can effect something, 
and, therefore, I have written to him. As a scholar, that 
excellent man was every thing to me, and as a man, if 
possible, still more. What he could do, he did, both 
directly and indirectly, to improve my condition. If he 
had succeeded in his plan, I should have acted my part 
at the close of life in the midst of an enviable abundance 
of literary treasures, in a milder climate, and in more 
friendly relations. But this also is the " shadow of a 
dream." The name of Bast, like the dear names of 
Schiitz and Heyne, is indelibly inscribed on my heart. 
Ever yours, most devotedly. 



SCHAFER TO SCHUTZ. 

Leipsic, Dec. 15, 1813. 

* * * Thus far I have got along very well, and every 
thing seems now to indicate that I ought to reserve myself 
for better days. From the 16th to the 19th of October, 
especially the 19th, when the storming Prussians were 
plying their cannon and their small arms at a horrid rate 
against my house, were such days as I never passed 
before. One twelve-pounder broke through a pretty thick 
wall ; and the shock of a stone from the wall drove my 
study-table a good jog. * * * Napoleon, according to all 
accounts, is rallying all the forces he can muster, and as 
long as he can get a single battalion, he will fight. But 
with such preparations as the allied armies are making, 
there can be no doubt as to the final result. * * 
17* 



198 CLASSICAL STUDIES. 

F. PASSOW TO HUDTWALKER, OF HAMBURG. 

Leipsic, JNov. 4, 1804. 
* * I attend the following lectures ; — in theology, the 
interpretation of the New Testament, with Beck ; church 
history, with Rosenmiiller ; and Arabic, with the younger 
Rosenmuller : in philosophy, a systematic outline of the 
theories of Kant, Fichte, and Schelling, with Gesner ; and 
a Latin disputation under Beck : in philology, Polybius, 
with Beck ; Cicero de Legibus, with the same ; and 
Oedipus Rex, with Hermann. Besides, I am a member 
of Beck's Latin, and Hermann's Philological Society, 
before the latter of which I am to read an exercise on the 
Ajax of Sophocles. For Beck's Latin Society I am, at 
present, preparing a commentary on the twenty-third idyl 
of Theocritus. As to the rest, Beck is something of a 
humdrum character, but Hermann is a splendid fellow, if he 
did not smoke quite so much tobacco. Lately, he used up 
thirty-six pipes over the Iliad, in a single day ! When I 
called on him the first time, he talked with me, standing ; 
but when he heard that I came from Gotha, he at once 
shoved me a chair, which struck me so drolly, that I began 
to laugh. It struck him, too, as a little funny, and so we 
both set up a loud shout ! I have one favor to ask of you, 
which you will much oblige me by granting. Jacobs has 
written, in his copy of Brunck's Sophocles, a number of 
conjectures by himself, Wakefield, and others. Can you 
not, under some pretext or other, borrow his book, — for it 
would not take you more than an hour to copy them all 
out, — and send me every thing that you can find in the 
margin ? If you should consent to do me this favor, I 
wish you would give me the very words, and even the 
Greek accents of Jacobs. This must be done with great 
accuracy, you know. I will gladly do as much for you 
some time. I could, for instance, if Jacobs should lecture 



PASSOW'S CORRESPONDENCE. 199 

on King Oedipus next term, send you a good supply 
of conjectures from Hermann, which have never been 
published. 

PASSOW TO ERNEST BREEM. 

Leipsic, Nov. 20, 1804. 

# # * That I should keenly feel the difference between 
Leipsic and my beloved Gotha, was to be expected, as a 
matter of course. * # * But I shall not allow external 
circumstances to shorten my stay here, which is important 
to me, especially with respect to the practical exercises in 
the two languages. * * Beck is, unquestionably, the first 
theologian here ; he possesses an immense amount of 
theological, philological, and historical learning, well 
digested and arranged. But it is impossible to conceive 
of a colder man; and this lifeless manner, unhappily, 
appears in every word he utters. * * * The exercises in 
his Latin Society are particularly valuable to me. Each 
member, twelve in all, selects a classic author for his 
examination, and hands in to the professor, in single 
sheets, as fast as they are prepared, his comments written 
in Latin. Every member takes his turn, once in six 
weeks, and reads his commentary before the Society, 
where it is freely criticised, and the topics involved 
discussed at large by all the members. I have selected 
for my exercises, as comprehending the system of Platonic 
love, the Symposia of Xenophon and of Plato, Phaedrus, 
and a part of Maximus Tyrius. Professor Hermann, 
from whom I am hearing a grand course of lectures on the 
Oedipus Tyrannus of Sophocles, has received me into his 
Philological Society, which is on the same plan as Beck's, 
except that speaking and writing Greek are included. 
In his Society, I interpret the Ajax and the Trachiniae of 
Sophocles. Hermann, who has just published an edition 
of Orpheus, and is now preparing a huge commentary on 



200 CLASSICAL STUDIES. 

the Agamemnon of iEschylus, is exactly the opposite of 
Beck, and has many remote resemblances to Jacobs, only 
he becomes communicative as soon as you know him. 
He always enters his lecture-room in full riding-dress, 
with spurs and whip ; and in the Philological Society, a 
stranger would scarce know who presided, but for the 
exhaustless stores of the professor's learning ; for one is 
very much at his ease with him, and he has still a very 
youthful look, being but thirty-two years old. He is the 
only professor that is universally beloved, notwithstanding 
he sometimes deals in biting sarcasm. 

PASSOW TO F. JACOBS, IN MUNICH. 

Weimar, Dec. 27, 1803. 

* * My first concern, and that which tasked all my 
powers, was the new organization of the gymnasium, 
which has just been effected. I had given occasion to 
this change, by a written communication made to the 
duke, respecting the condition of the institution. To me, 
this change was the more gratifying, as it created a new 
professorship, which could be offered to my particular 
friend, Schulze, also of Mecklenburg, and a disciple of 
Wolf. Similarity in age, studies, views, and plans of life, 
had long before bound me in close ties with this young man 
of talent and various culture, and nothing could be more 
welcome to my feelings, than an opportunity to unite with 
him in a common enterprise. It was natural, therefore, 
that I should do every thing to secure his services here, 
so that we might work together, mutually aiding, 
encouraging, and stimulating each other ; and I have the 
inexpressible joy to see, that my friend is duly estimated 
here, and that he has been appointed as my associate. 

Our first business will be to form a selecta, — not as in 
Gotha, where such a class exists in name merely, and for 
show, and is nothing more than the more modest prima oi 



PASSOW'S CORRESPONDENCE. 201 

other gymnasia, the class from which students go to the 
university. Such a prima we have already, and we are 
not ambitious to exchange the name for one of more 
pretension. But we have perceived the necessity of 
forming a distinct class for those students who have 
higher aims than that of merely getting a living, who are 
seeking for literary distinction, and who feel impelled to 
make extraordinary efforts of their own. Only those, 
therefore, who are already fitted for the university, and 
who wish to go beyond what is indispensable to enter, 
will be received as members of our selecta. The majority 
of our students will, as heretofore, go directly from the 
prima to the university; and it will be no dishonor, not to 
have passed through the selecta; for one can be a very 
good scholar, and yet not be fitted for the peculiar exercises 
of this class. From what I have said, it will be apparent, 
that the scientific studies must be brought to a close in the 
prima, and that, for the selecta, nothing but philology be 
reserved. Of the Latin course I will say nothing now. 
But of the Greek, which Schulze and myself are to 
conduct, and which we have got entirely into our own 
hands, — for we thought it necessary to have our work all 
of a piece, — I will give you the plan. In the lowest class, 
the quarta, the mechanical part, the reading will be 
attended to. Under this, however, we include something 
more than the knowledge of letters. We teach our pupils 
not only to read with facility, but, more particularly, to 
read with accuracy and propriety. This class, therefore, 
is made sufficiently acquainted with the rules of prosody, 
to pronounce any word with perfect accuracy, and to 
acquire a perception of harmony and rhythm; for these 
are to eloquence what form is to the arts of design. 
With these outlines, we, of course, combine so much 
of the doctrine of accents as is necessary to correct 
pronunciation. That, in grammar, the ground may not 



202 CLASSICAL STUDIES. 

be wholly unbroken, we instruct this class also, in the 
septem partes orationis, as they are called. General 
grammar is almost universally neglected in the lower 
classes of our gymnasia, and, by declining nouns and 
conjugating verbs, before knowing what a noun or a 
verb is, the minds of boys are greatly confused. We 
endeavor to protect our young Grecians against such 
disorder. 

When a boy has mastered all these, he enters the 
tertia. In this class, all the grammatical forms of the 
language are taught after Buttmann's excellent Grammar, 
and my friend Thiersch's Tables of the Greek Verb, in 
courses which extend through half the year. In order to 
unite practice with theory, we take up the first course of 
your Greek Reader, which is the more convenient, as its 
references are to Buttmann's Grammar. With the same 
class we make easy experiments in translating from 
German into Greek, which, however, is not done in 
writing, but orally and extemporaneously, as all the tasks 
in this class ought to be easy and interesting. When 
the students are furnished with a complete knowledge of 
grammatical forms, they pass into the secunda, and read 
your second course, and the Odyssey. In grammar, the 
formation and derivation of words are chiefly attended to ; 
and we design that the boys of this class shall not only 
be able to give all the rules of formation from primitives, 
but that they shall know by heart all the primitives of 
the language. It is with reference to these etymological 
exercises, that the Odyssey is selected to be read. The 
oral exercises in constructing Greek phrases are continued 
in this class. In the prima, we read the Iliad and one of 
the writings of Xenophon, at present the Memorabilia, 
and connect with the latter the study of syntax. It is on 
account of the syntax, that we have preferred the elegant 
Athenian to Herodotus, or any other writer. The dialects 



PASSOW's CORRESPONDENCE. 203 

are taken up in connection with the Iliad. "When we 
have gone through with all these studies, our course is 
finished. By this time, the Greek has been systematically 
and thoroughly taught, and we can, with good conscience, 
dismiss our students to go to the university. But such 
as desire a more critical study of the language enter the 
selecta. The studies of the preceding classes having 
been attended to with chief reference to thoroughness, 
we now aim at the enlargement of knowledge and of 
learning ; at the practical application of the instruments 
that have been acquired ; at original investigations, and 
the criticism of the text. For our reading, we have 
marked out a distinct course in poetry, and another in 
prose. The former consists of select hymns of Pindar, 
single plays of Sophocles, iEschylus, and Aristophanes, 
and, perhaps, Euripides ; the latter, of select passages of 
Herodotus and Thucydides, dialogues of Plato, and 
orations of Demosthenes, varying every semester. Here, 
written exercises in Greek are prepared, the object now 
being to form a Greek style. In the earlier classes, only 
facility of expression was aimed at ; and that is all that 
can be reasonably expected of those who are to be 
business men. But a member of the selecta of Weimar 
has already made up his mind for something higher. 
The principal exercise consists in preparing a dissertation 
on any author which one may choose, and in a discussion 
arising from it, under the supervision of Schulze and 
myself alternately. * * * 

PASSOW TO THE YOUNGER VOSS, IN HEIDELBERG. 

Weimar, Sept. 17, 1309. 

* * Have you been looking into my Musaeus ? Have 

you wiped off any of his stains ? That I am continually 

filing upon him, you may easily infer from the little 

specimens which I have recently given. I shall not 



204 CLASSICAL STUDIES. 

enter upon the principal labor, until I have received your 
criticisms and corrections. Jacobs has given me some 
critical observations on the text, and the sturdy Wunderlich 
is also going through with the text for me. Not much is to 
be hoped from manuscripts, for all that have been collated 
are alike in the difficult passages. Still, Bast has promised 
to examine all the Paris manuscripts of Musaeus, Coluthus, 
and Tryphiodorus for me. Perhaps he may find something 
of importance. I should like to know how you read lines 
213, 125, and 298. * * * 

PASSOW TO H. VOSS. 

Weimar, March 12, 1810. 

* * * I have just got through with a trifling affair in 
Latin. Sometime ago, Beck, of Leipsic, requested me to 
contribute an article to the first volume of his Transactions 
of the Leipsic Philological Society, which will come out 
at the Easter fair. While I was hesitating as to what I 
should send him, it occurred to me, that ever since I came 
here, about three years ago, I had been interlining my 
copy of Schneider's Lexicon with words and significations 
which were here and there wanting, corrections, idioms, 
and the like. As Ahlwardt had written a Programm, 
entitled, a Supplement to Schneider's Lexicon, I resolved 
to examine and see whether I had collected any materials 
of importance, and, to my surprise, I found, under the 
letter alpha alone, about one hundred words which were 
entirely wanting in Schneider. They were mostly from 
good writers, such as Homer, Hesiod, Pindar, iEschylus, 
Herodotus, Sophocles, Aristophanes, Thucydides, and 
Demosthenes ; some of them were from Nonnus, Julius 
Pollux, Tryphiodorus, Athenaeus, Stobaeus, the Anthology, 
etc. All these had been noted down, and justified by 
references to the passages in which they were found. I, 
therefore, collected together all the notes on new words 



PASSOW'S CORRESPONDENCE. 205 

and forms, about 350 in number, which I found on the 
first hundred pages of my Schneider, demonstrated the 
nonentity of some words received in all good faith by 
him, removed the doubts which he had cast upon others, 
and sent off my package to Beck, in which I have given 
evidence, that if I should continue to read the Greek 
authors twenty years longer, in other words, if I should 
live so long, I should be able to prepare a better lexicon 
than Schneider's. Still, I thankfully acknowledge his 
merits, though his hasty, defective, and unphilosophical 
manner of execution has, by a long use of his work, been 
rendered too obvious to me. Either in the second volume 
of these Transactions, or in a Programm at this gymnasium, 
I intend to prepare a dissertation De Vitiis Lexicorum 
Graecorum. I shall prosecute my lexicographical studies 
without interruption, particularly with reference to 
completeness of the forms and significations of words, the 
philosophical development of the latter, — a point to which 
Schneider appears not to have devoted a thought ; to 
etymology, in which he might have learned very much 
from Riemer ; to prosody, to which Koes alone, in his 
little Homeric lexicon, has attended, in part ; and finally to 
the age of each word, so far as it can now be demonstrated. 
Whether I shall ever live to see this infinite number of 
details reduced to a perfect system, must be left to the 
decision of Providence. If one should allow himself to be 
discouraged by such uncertainties, nothing great or noble 
would ever be accomplished. I present myself to you, 
therefore, as a future lexicographer ; and my work shall 
be no mere manual, but a great critical work, or nothing. 
If not called away too soon by death, I can surely leave 
behind me something useful, which, when I have done, 
may be given over to the best of my pupils, so that, in the 
course of time, a complete view of this noble language 
can be exhibited. 
18 



206 CLASSICAL STUDIES. 



PASSOW TO H. VOSS. 

Weimar, May 15, 1810. 
I write you, my dear Voss, in a state of painful suspense 
in regard to an important matter, on which the next two 
or three years, perhaps my whole life, depends. * * 
The authorities at Dantzic have appointed me associate 
director, and professor of philology in the gymnasium at 
Jenkau, under their care, two hours' walk from the city. 
The offer was such a brilliant one, that I felt it due to 
myself to take it into consideration. The 1000 rix 
dollars, which would be a part only of my support, would 
not tempt me there, although I have to bear in mind that 
I am no longer alone, and that 400 dollars are little or 
nothing. It is no pleasant thing to be so abominably 
pressed on account of these "rascal counters," as I have 
to be here, without any property of my own. I sometimes 
feel as shabby as Al-Hafiz himself. I am now and then 
subjected to great mortification on this account. It is a 
villanous thing, that a man, who is in the midst of a work, 
begun out of pure love for it, must stop and calculate the 
profits; and it is a poor consolation, that other worthy 
men have fared no better. Heinse, for example, whose 
bubbling, boiling letters interest me more than all the 
elegant cut of Muller, — the metaphor, by the way, has 
run off the track. * * I choose to say nothing of the 
manner in which our hands are tied here. 

PASSOW TO H. VOSS. 
Jenkau, Nov. 30, 1810. On the Scythian coast. 
* * In Berlin I rioted in the enjoyment of literary 
society. Spalding is the most amiable scholar of my 
acquaintance. Buttmann is a sterling man, full of the 
fire, and ready to crush the hardest knot to atoms. 
Heindorf is indescribably kind, with all the innocent 



PASSOW'S CORRESPONDENCE. 207 

simplicity of a child. I found him almost sick a-bed, 
at the thought of appearing as a university teacher. 
Bernhardy's appearance is a little wriggling and confused, 
but he is running over with genius, vigor, and original 
humor, — a very uncommon character, with a little touch 
of the Mephistopheles. Uhden and Siivern are men 
of affairs, full of intellect, and highly cultivated. I also 
visited Bothe. When I saw the nimble, cheerful, 
and sportive man, apparently about forty years old, 
hopping towards me on one leg, I could scarce keep 
from laughing and weeping at the same time. He 
spoke with great frankness of his own writings; could 
enter into every subject; and he so affected me by his 
cheerful good-nature amid all that is depressing in 
his circumstances, that I thanked you a thousand 
times for your lenient review of his Sophocles, a 
circumstance which seems to have given him pleasure. 
My acquaintance with the excellent Solger has been 
gratifying in the highest degree ; and I hope it will be of 
long continuance. How attractive is his repose, the 
clearness and strength of his comprehensive intellect ! 
At Frankfort on the Oder, I passed a very pleasant 
evening with Bredow, where I met Schneider, and 
Herodotus Schulz. Bredow I had known in Weimar, 
and had highly esteemed him for his straight-forward, 
solid character. His services in improving the schools 
of Frankfort will long be remembered with gratitude. 
Schneider bears a strong resemblance to Knebel ; in each 
a great man has been lost for want of proper concentration. 

PASSOW TO F. JACOBS. 

Berlin, May 6, 1815. 

* * My first lonely winter, to which I could not look 
forward without horror, is finally over, and now, like all 
the past, it seems short, while the future, in its limitless 



208 CLASSICAL STUDIES. 

extent, stretches out fearfully before me. I have had 
much leisure, and this I have employed in filling up 
several gaps which had been left in my studies. I have, 
in the meantime, aided my friends, Walch and Kopke, by 
giving some lessons to the first class in the Gray Cloister 
gymnasium ; more, however, to keep up some connection 
with active life, and to give regularity to my habits, than 
for any other cause. Nothing was more natural, than 
that I should, for the remainder of my time, adopt a 
student's life ; and I am thankful, that after eight years 
of professional toil, I find myself still sharp-set for study. 
Wolf's talents and scholarship would naturally present 
the strongest attractions for me ; and now I can, with 
equal propriety, and with equal pride, call myself the 
disciple of Jacobs, Hermann, and Wolf. That which, 
next to his instructions, interests me most, is a circle of men, 
associated for the purpose of studying ancient literature, 
making Herodotus the nucleus of their researches. The 
whole story will be told, when I say that Schleiermacher, 
Niebuhr, Siivern, Bockh, Buttmann, Bekker, Hirt, and 
Ideler compose the circle. I am admitted as a friend and 
guest ; and the evenings thus spent, are the happiest of 
my life. * * * But these employments will terminate 
with the present month. I have been recently appointed 
professor of ancient literature, in Breslau, in Schneider's 
place, who has retired from academic life. * * 



VI. 



SCHOOL OF PHILOLOGY IN HOLLAND. 



18* 



HEMSTERHUYS, RUHNKEN, WYTTENBACH. 



The place occupied by Germany, in many departments 
of literature, is so high, that the claims of other countries 
may not receive that consideration to which they are 
entitled. In some of the principal branches of knowledge, 
the German language contains more valuable materials 
than can be found in all other languages together. 
Germany nearly fills the literary horizon. Her influence 
overshadows the whole of Christendom. Hence, we are 
in danger of undervaluing real excellence which exists 
elsewhere. 

Holland, if not now eminent, has a rich intellectual 
history. In Oriental learning, her scholars once stood in 
the front rank. Erpenius and Golius produced works 
that will not soon be forgotten. Albert Schultens first 
brought a profound knowledge of Arabic to the illustration 
of the Old Testament. His son and grandson gave 
additional lustre to the name. Reland's Palestine, says 
Gesenius, yet remains the standard work on the subject. 
Schrader, Scheid, and Graevius were learned investigators 
in the Semitic languages. 

In classical philology, Holland has a reputation second 
to scarcely any country but Germany. The first traces 
of philological culture appeared in the fourteenth century. 



212 CLASSICAL STUDIES. 

In the year 1370, Gerard Groote, who had studied at 
Paris, opened a school at Deventer, which attained much 
celebrity under his pupils and successors. Agricola and 
Thomas a Kempis studied there. The former went to 
Italy, and became a learned philologist under Guarini and 
Theodore Gaza. The founding of the universities, and 
of the learned school at Amsterdam, was attended with 
auspicious results. Leyden became one of the principal 
seats of the liberal arts. Thither scholars were drawn 
from every country of Europe, partly for the sake of 
study, and, partly, on account of the political freedom 
which was then enjoyed in Holland. Erasmus of 
Rotterdam, who died in 1536, earned an European 
reputation by his classical acquisitions. Valuable services 
were also rendered to this branch of literature, by Dousa, 
Justus Lipsius, and Joseph Scaliger. The last named 
was professor at Leyden from 1593, till his death 
in 1609. He had more learning, though less genius, 
than his father. When nineteen years of age, he went to 
Paris, where he devoted his days and nights to the study 
of Greek. He shut himself up in his chamber, and, 
in two years, read all the Greek classical authors, in 
chronological order. With equal industry, he then 
investigated the Hebrew, and other Oriental languages. 
Among his works, are Annotations on Theocritus, 
Catullus, Tibullus, Propertius, Nonnus and Seneca's 
Tragedies ; also two valuable treatises on Chronology. 
Another scholar, who was equally at home in various 
departments of knowledge, and who is one of the few 
whose reputation is not diminished by the lapse of time, 
is Hugo Grotius. In the fourteenth year of his age, he 
prepared a valuable edition of Martianus Capella, Avhich 
called forth the praises of Scaliger. He is among the 
best writers of Latin verse in modern times. His metrical 
translations from the Greek are full of the poetic spirit. 



SCHOOL OF PHILOLOGY IN HOLLAND. 213 

As a critic, he had acuteness, and a fine tact for illustrating 
his author by brief comments. Daniel Heinsius, a pupil 
of Joseph Scaliger, was appointed a professor in Leyden, 
in his twenty-fifth year. He was a man of various 
learning, historical and philological. His Greek and 
Latin poems are written in good taste. His son, 
Nicholas, who died at the Hague, in 1681, edited 
Claudian, Ovid, Virgil, and other Latin authors. His 
Latin and Dutch poems are, also, highly commended. J. 
F. Gronovius had great merits as a critic and translator. 
He was professor of eloquence and history at Deventer, 
till 1685, when he succeeded the elder Heinsius at 
Leyden. His son, J. Gronovius, was born in 1645, and 
studied at Oxford and Cambridge. He is now principally 
known by his immense Thesaurus of Greek Antiquities, 
and by his fierce disputes with Bochart, Salmasius, and 
others. Of the remaining philologists of Holland, who 
lived in the seventeenth century, and in the beginning of 
the eighteenth, we may name Perizonius, whose work on 
the Antiquities of Egypt and Babylon has still a popular 
character ; Graevius, before named, a scholar of immense 
learning, and of unwearied industry; Havercamp, the 
editor of Josephus ; the two Burmanns ; J. P. D'Orville ; 
Drakenborch ; and Wesseling, the editor of Herodotus. 

But the light, that was to outshine all the others that 
have been named, and who was, in an important sense, 
the restorer of philology, in Holland, was Hemsterhuys. 
The influence, which he exerted while living, and the 
enduring reputation which his works have earned, will 
justify a somewhat detailed account of his life and 
character. The materials are chiefly drawn from the 
elegant eulogy, pronounced soon after his death by his 
affectionate pupil, Ruhnken. 

Tiberius Hemsterhuys was born at Groningen, in 
North Holland, February 1, 1685. His earliest studies 



214 CLASSICAL STUDIES. 

were conducted in part by his father, who was a physician, 
and a man of cultivated taste. He appears to have been 
one of those precocious children, whom we look upon with 
fear and trembling, and who, if they survive childhood, 
not unfrequently sink down into a dull mediocrity. In 
his fourteenth year, he joined the university of his native 
city, which was then rendered illustrious by the lectures 
of John Bernouilli, the prince of mathematicians, and 
the friend of Leibnitz and Newton. He is said to have 
confidently predicted the future fame of his young pupil, 
affirming, that, in mathematical knowledge, he was 
without a rival in the university. The grateful scholar 
was wont to say, that Bernouilli had conferred upon him a 
divine gift. After he had spent some years in Groningen, 
he went to Leyden, to enjoy the instructions of Perizonius, 
professor of history, eloquence and Greek. As a proof 
of the high character, which he had then acquired, it may 
be mentioned, that the curators of the university assigned 
him the duty of arranging the manuscripts in the library, 
which were then in a scattered state. From this mark 
of distinction, it was generally inferred, that he would 
succeed the aged Gronovius in the Greek professorship. 
The place was given, however, to Havercamp, not so much 
by the will of the public authorities, as by the exertions of 
some individuals, who feared, that their own light would 
be eclipsed, if Hemsterhuys should be chosen. 

In 1704, and in the nineteenth year of his age, 
Hemsterhuys went to Amsterdam, as a teacher of 
mathematics and philosophy in the Athenaeum. Some 
persons, entering upon a profession of that nature, 
would have abandoned the pursuit of elegant learning. 
Hemsterhuys, however, did not confine his attention to 
his professional studies, but extended his researches over 
a large field, justly considering, that all the branches of 
science and literature are connected by a common bond. 



SCHOOL OF PHILOLOGY IN HOLLAND. 215 

Amsterdam was then the residence of several scholars, 
who became his intimate friends. Among these were 
Broukhuys, a learned interpreter of the Latin poets, 
Bergler, and Kuster; Bergler was skilled in ancient 
philosophy, Kuster, in criticism, and both, in Greek 
literature. By the influence of Broukhuys, he became 
deeply interested in the Roman poet, Propertius, while 
Kuster awakened an enthusiasm for Aristophanes. 

About this time an incident occurred, which turned the 
attention of Hemsterhuys more decidedly to the study of 
Greek literature. As a new edition of Julius Pollux was 
soon to be published at Amsterdam, inquiry was made for 
an editor who would supply certain deficiencies in the 
work. Application was made to Hemsterhuys, who, on 
the strong recommendation of Graevius, undertook the 
labor, and supplied a commentary, betraying marks of 
juvenility, indeed, but winning the applause of the 
scholars of Holland. In a short time, he received 
letters from Richard Bentley, the British Aristarchus, 
commending the labor bestowed upon Pollux, but 
containing emendations on the passages from the comic 
writers, where Pollux endeavored to support his position 
by examples. In correcting these passages, Hemsterhuys, 
also, had taken unwearied pains, fully aware, that this 
was the main point for inquiry. But when he had 
read the criticisms of Bentley, he at once saw, that 
his own toil had been thrown away. Excessively 
mortified, he resolved to abandon Greek literature 
for ever. For two months he did not touch a book 
in that language. Subsequent reflection, however, 
convinced him of the injustice of comparing his juvenile 
productions with those of a veteran scholar, and he 
resumed, with wonted cheerfulness, his Greek studies. 
But Bentley's admonition had such an effect, that he 
determined, before trusting himself again to this dangerous 



216 CLASSICAL STUDIES. 

precipice, to compass the whole circle of knowledge, and, 
especially, that he would make no further attempt in 
respect to the verses of the comic writers, — the point 
where he had been criticised, — until he had obtained a 
thorough insight into the various kinds of metres employed 
by the writers in question. As a guide and model in 
these investigations, he selected his great adviser himself, 
preferring him to all other critics, and not concealing his 
displeasure, if any one invidiously carped at the learning 
of a scholar whom he was able in no manner to rival. 

With the design of adding to his stores of learning, 
he studied, with untiring energy, the ancient writers, 
beginning with Homer, the fountain of genius. Indeed, 
he so selected and disposed of his various knowledge, 
that whatever related to the genius of the two classical 
languages, to history, to the manners and customs of the 
people, or to the wisdom of the ancients, was put into a 
condition for ready use. 

The manner which he pursued, of beginning with the 
earliest writer, and going on chronologically, he was 
accustomed to recommend with great earnestness to 
others. Proceeding in this course, we can determine 
more satisfactorily, not only the age of particular terms, 
but the significations assigned to single words and forms, 
an exact observation of which is of great importance in 
all languages. Again, it is obvious, that there is no happy 
thought or expression in the writers of antiquity, — whose 
works we commend as the law and model of accurate 
thinking and writing, — which the ingenuity of later 
writers has not copied in various ways. Now, the 
felicity of the imitation cannot be perceived, unless the 
source whence it is drawn is known. For example, 
Hemsterhuys had become so familiar with the profound 
reflections and exquisite style of Thucydides, that he 
could trace Polybius, Dionysius of Halicarnassus, Plutarch, 



SCHOOL OF PHILOLOGY IN HOLLAND. 217 

or other writers, when they attempted to imitate the great 
historian. It will thus be readily seen, that he was 
prepared to suggest many and beautiful expositions of the 
most difficult passages. 

In ancient times, as is well known, mathematics and 
the various branches of philosophy were included in a 
course of liberal education. Classical usage, in this 
particular, was followed by the restorers of learning in 
the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries. Soon afterwards, 
however, the circle of studies was much narrowed, by the 
exclusion of mathematics and philosophy. The result 
was, that two parties were formed, who became thoroughly 
inimical to each other. The student of grammar, history, 
poetry, and eloquence, looked down with contempt upon 
him who was plodding with lines and angles, or plunging 
into the depths of metaphysics. On the other hand, the 
pursuits of elegant literature found no favor with the 
disciples of Euclid and Aristotle. Hemsterhuys, as might 
have been expected, had no sympathy with these narrow 
prejudices. 

The study of geometry tends to withdraw the mind 
from sensible objects, and fix it upon those which are 
perceived by reflection. It also renders the intellect 
acute and discriminating. Who can doubt, but that 
philologists, if disciplined in this manner, will possess a 
keener perception, than such as have never drawn a 
diagram ? Those who are acquainted with the writings 
or conversation of Hemsterhuys, know how much benefit 
he derived from geometry. Whatever flowed from his 
lips, whatever he committed to writing, even in matters 
pertaining to criticism, at once revealed an intellect 
accustomed to the precise reasoning of exact science. 
He never laid down his premises incautiously; but, from 
well-known and admitted principles, he proceeded to 
state, in an orderly manner, the inevitable inferences. 
19 



218 CLASSICAL STUDIES. 

There is, moreover, another branch of mathematics, 
with which it is discreditable for a critic not to be 
acquainted. This is astronomy, particularly ancient 
astronomy, without a knowledge of which, neither the 
Greek nor Latin poets, who drew thence so many of 
their ornaments, can be fully understood. The more 
thoroughly he endeavored to comprehend this science, 
the less could he refrain, — though a mild and charitable 
judge of others, — from making merriment with those 
modern interpreters of the classical poets, who, when an 
explanation is needed from ancient astronomy, come to a 
disgraceful stand, or fall into ludicrous mistakes. 

Hemsterhuys was the more ardent in his study of 
philosophy, as he was impelled to it by his natural 
inclinations. Indeed, he roamed at will over all parts 
of the field, now lingering in the sacred Retreat of 
Pythagoras, then in the Academy of Plato ; at one time, 
in the Lyceum of Aristotle, at another, in the Porch of 
Zeno, or the Gardens of Epicurus, gazing with admiration 
on many things which the vanity of the present age 
boastfully holds up as new discoveries. Most students 
of ancient philosophy either take a sip of it, or stay in 
the sunnier spots. But Hemsterhuys, in obedience to 
the promptings of genius, investigated metaphysics, the 
most difficult branch of all. Nothing can well be found 
more abstruse than the Parmenides of Plato, where he 
unfolds his doctrine respecting ideas. Once and again, 
he returned to the study of this dialogue, not desisting, 
till, on the fourth perusal, he elicited the hidden sense. 
Difficulty did not blunt his curiosity, as is common; it 
only stimulated it. Not contented with the ancient 
philosophers, he connected the study of Leibnitz with 
Plato, Locke with Aristotle, and other modern authors 
with the ancient, so that one, who discoursed with him on 
ancient philosophy, might conclude, that his reading was 



SCHOOL OF PHILOLOGY IN HOLLAND. 219 

confined to that, but when modern philosophy was the 
theme of conversation, might suppose, that he had read 
nothing besides. All in metaphysics, which is true, and 
which can be firmly relied upon, he was accustomed to 
say, may be found in the ancient writers. As he readily 
detected the wire-drawn opinions of modern authors, so 
he pointed out their empty and fluctuating character, from 
the fact, that as often as a new theorizer springs up, his 
predecessor is ejected from his chair. 

In becoming acquainted with the various schools and 
doctrines of the ancient philosophers, he greatly lamented 
the hard lot that had befallen the history of philosophy. 
Though it supplies copious materials for the exercise of 
critical sagacity, it had never yet been brought to a severe 
critical test. Pillagers had pounced on the field, as if it 
were without owners and escheated. Being destitute of 
talent, and such bunglers in literature, that they were forced 
to get a smattering of knowledge from faulty translations 
of the ancient philosophers, they made up, in this manner, 
the stock of their ideas respecting each system. 

Even general history, which has a much wider range, 
appeared to Hemsterhuys to be in no better state. The 
obscurity which had been thrown over the subject, 
through the lapse of time, the disputes of writers, and 
other causes, together with the corruptions which had 
been induced by party-spirit, fraud, and superstition, 
were known and acknowledged by all. Yet how few 
critics had entered into this wide field ! How few had 
recognized criticism as the test of truth ! Joseph Scaliger 
had made a beginning in his treatises on Chronology, 
both works of imperishable value, yet more praised than 
studied. But how few could be found, who would share 
his fame, by following in his footsteps ! On this account, 
Hemsterhuys himself took special pains to apply the 
critical art to historical investigations, and, also, to excite 



220 CLASSICAL STUDIES. 

his pupils to do the same, setting before them, as a 
model to direct their studies, the historian, Polybius, 
the most severe historical critic among the extant ancient 
historians, and who was held in such admiration by 
Hemsterhuys, that he said he would give for a single 
lost book of his history a cart-load of the homilies of the 
fathers. 

He applied himself, however, not merely to the study of 
the classical historians, but he sought, by an examination 
of the wonders of ancient art, to sharpen his mind so as 
to perceive the elegance and beauty that are inherent in 
them. He studied nothing more eagerly, or intelligently, 
than the ancient gems, coins, vases, cameos, and statues, 
which the museum of his relative, James Wild, amply 
supplied. Such was his delicate appreciation of beauty 
and proportion, that he excelled most scholars in 
his accurate judgment of the paintings, statuary and 
architecture of the present day. He often expressed his 
astonishment, that when other organs of the body, which 
are inferior, and less fitted to delight the mind, are 
studiously trained, the ear being taught to judge correctly 
of musical sounds, and the hands and feet the laws of 
graceful motion, the eye, which is the noblest organ of 
them all, is shamefully neglected. This led him to 
impress on his pupils the importance of their being 
skilled in linear-drawing, which lies at the foundation of 
the arts to which allusion has just been made. 

But there was no path open for the acquisition of this 
knowledge, except by an exquisite acquaintance with 
languages, especially with Greek and Latin. It is 
unnecessary to repeat, for it is known by every one, that 
Hemsterhuys had attained, by long and exact study, a 
perfect mastery of the genius and laws of the Greek 
language. It is no exaggeration to affirm, that he had 
not been equalled since the revival of learning. He far 



SCHOOL OF PHILOLOGY IN HOLLAND. 221 

surpassed Isaac Casaubon himself, to whom the first rank 
had before been unanimously assigned. 

But, in one of the marks of a great genius, — the effecting 
of new discoveries, — Hemsterhuys was not wanting. We 
are indebted to him for the foundation of the study of the 
Greek language upon the basis of analogy, by which 
new light is shed on the origin and meaning of words. 
Following the thread of analogy, he investigated words 
in their simplest state, as consisting of two or three letters, 
together with the significations, taking their rise from 
them, and reduced all the forms and inflections into a 
systematic order. From the meaning, as it lies in the 
root, he elicited the secondary and derivative senses, 
showing, not only their relationship, but their various 
divergencies, and exploding the pretended anomalies, by 
which the grammarians had involved every thing in 
confusion, until he had so scattered the darkness which 
had accumulated in the course of ages, that no language 
is now more easy of acquisition than the Greek, as there 
is none more copious in its words and forms. The past 
age enjoyed the rare felicity of seeing, not only in Greek, 
but in oriental literature, a work begun and finished, 
which earlier generations rather desired than expected. 
The same light of analogy, that Hemsterhuys brought 
to the study of the Greek language, his fellow-student 
and colleague, Albert Schultens, carried into his oriental 
researches. 

In his ardent attachment to Greek, Hemsterhuys did 
not undervalue Latin. He held, that the latter is a 
beautiful daughter of a beautiful mother ; that they are 
so fitted and linked to each other, that he, who tears 
them asunder, divides, as it were, soul and body. In 
some of the Latin poets, there are innumerable graceful 
expressions, and witty turns, which cannot be enjoyed by 
him who is unacquainted with their Greek origin. He 
19* 



222 



CLASSICAL STUDIES. 



fully coincided with the remark of Muretus, that those, 
who are not familiar with the Greek diction, cannot have 
a deep insight into Latin. He doubted whether the 
Koman poets, Horace and Propertius, for example, who 
were the closest imitators of the Greek models, could 
be favorites with those who are ignorant of Greek. A 
contemporary, Justus Lipsius, of Leyden, who was a 
master in Latin, but only moderately skilled in Greek, 
hazarded the observation, that Greek literature is an 
ornament to a learned man, but not indispensable. This 
inconsiderate judgment, Isaac Casaubon, though a gentle 
spirit, most indignantly repelled. Happily, however, an 
opinion so destructive to good learning, did not take root. 
Joseph Scaliger, — to whom the people of Holland are 
indebted for nearly all the true classical improvement, 
which had its origin at that period, — united the 
cultivation of Greek and Latin, as well as of other liberal 
arts. The study of the two languages went hand in 
hand, under the guidance of Grotius, Heinsius, father 
and son, John and James Gronovius, and Graevius. 
Subsequently, however, the study of Greek declined, 
while that of Latin was inordinately cultivated. Another 
Scaliger was needed, who should hinder the Greek muses 
from taking their flight, and should again join them to the 
Roman in the closest friendship. The author of their 
happy re-union was Hemsterhuys. Under his auspices, 
such a change was effected, that Athens herself seemed 
to have been transplanted into Batavia, yet without 
occasioning the least neglect of her Roman daughter. 

The skill of Hemsterhuys in Latin is indicated by his 
style in writing it, which was pure, polished, luminous, 
fitly framed, and particularly deserving of praise by its 
propriety and selection of language. In one thing only 
was he deficient, a facility of expression, which cannot 
be attained without that long practice which a Greek 



SCHOOL OF PHILOLOGY IN HOLLAND. 223 

professorship rarely renders possible. When a youth, 
his style rioted, as it were, in a luxuriant field; it was 
chastened, however, by reason and advancing years. 

The fruits of the field, which Hemsterhuys cultivated, 
corresponded to the pains which he had expended in 
preparing the soil. His Animadversions on Lucian were 
received with extraordinary favor, the more so as the 
labors of Salmasius on the same author, though rich 
in materials, Avanted that nice selection, that almost 
mathematical rigor, which the pages of Hemsterhuys 
exhibit. 

When he had laid a deep and firm foundation, by the 
aid of genius and erudition, he proceeded to build the 
superstructure of a true and just criticism. First of all, 
he studied his author with the utmost industry. He took 
special pains to compare the kindred passages together, 
on the ground, that every writer knows best how to 
interpret himself, and that the critic who does not often 
read through, continuously, a work which he has in hand, 
will be apt to fail most disgracefully, when he comes to 
emend and interpret it. Having obtained a thorough 
insight into the diction and sentiments of his author, 
Hemsterhuys proceeded to lay down certain fixed laws, so 
that the scattered parts might be reduced into system. In 
doing this, he was vigilant, sharp-sighted, and continually 
jealous lest he should be imposed upon by some device 
of a copyist or interpolator. Yet who could deceive an 
understanding, that was so keen by nature, and so wary 
by long practice ? Had a crafty knave palmed his own 
offspring on some noble writer, the critic instantly detected 
the fraud by the surest marks. Had some verse-maker 
covertly foisted his own productions into the lines of one of 
the great poets, he nailed the spurious coin to the counter. 
Had a copyist vitiated the true reading, or some sciolist 
glossed over the corrupt addition, all the means of coming 



224 CLASSICAL STUDIES. 

at the truth were at hand. Hemsterhuys sought not only 
to lay bare the foreign admixture, and sift out the chaff, 
but to supply, by his rare tact, what would perfectly befit 
both the sentiment and the diction. 

He endeavored to avoid the two opposite rocks, — 
rashness and credulity, — on which many critics are 
wrecked. Some carry such an exterminating spirit into 
their labors, as to threaten a destruction of literary 
remains, hardly less to be dreaded than that effected by 
the Goths and Vandals. Hemsterhuys did not sanction 
the liberties which Bentley took, in his edition of 
Manilius. On the other hand, he was equally averse to 
that superstitious feeling, which takes a received text 
under its patronage, however absurd it may be, and 
resists all proposals for emendation. There are those 
who are willing to admit corrections, which are supplied 
by a manuscript, but who pertinaciously oppose every 
thing which is suggested by a critic. Not excelling in 
ability of this kind, they set themselves up as the 
defenders of every passage, in favor of which any thing 
can be said by a perverse ingenuity. To such obstinacy, 
Hemsterhuys never deferred. No where is it more 
necessary than in criticism, to select the happy medium 
between inveterate prejudice and an unsparing rashness. 

Hemsterhuys took special pains to teach his pupils 
the art of criticism. His method was this. He directed 
them to read, with close attention, some prominent 
paragraph in the classics, Livy's preface for example, 
written with almost inimitable art, and then state to him 
what had particularly interested them in the perusal. 
After they had shown a just perception of the meaning 
and the beauties of the sentence, he pointed out a 
corrupted passage, that had previously escaped detection, 
and directed them to investigate it. The obnoxious point 
being discovered, which was sometimes more difficult 



SCHOOL OF PHILOLOGY IN HOLLAND. 225 

than to supply the genuine reading, inasmuch as the 
faulty addition harmonized tolerably well with the context, 
their ingenuity was taxed to discover a fitting remedy. 
In order to aid such as had but little experience in 
criticism, he sometimes suggested several methods of 
solving the difficulty. If any one hit the nail on the 
head, he was sure to receive the commendation of his 
teacher. If the solution was beyond the compass of 
youthful ability, Hemsterhuys himself pointed out the 
true reading. In this way, a school of accomplished 
critics was formed, of whom L. C. Valckenaer was an 
illustrious member, and who would have perpetuated the 
critical ability of their great pattern, even if there had 
been no record of it in books. The influence of 
Hemsterhuys wrought an entire change in the views of 
his colleague, Wesseling, a man of copious erudition, 
but who had entirely undervalued the critical art. 
Hemsterhuys convinced him, that no learning, however 
varied and abundant, could be, in the highest sense, true 
and accurate, separated from critical studies. 

The Observations which Hemsterhuys wrote, are 
characterized by a certain neat and happy fulness. 
Nothing is strange or far-fetched. Every thing is 
beautifully adapted to its place. There did not exist in 
his age, more perfect specimens of commentary, than 
those which he published on Aristophanes, Lucian, 
Xenophon the Ephesian, Hesychius, and others. 
Notwithstanding the pains with which he elaborated his 
works, and which was regarded by some as excessive, the 
fruits of his toil are not scanty. His annotations are 
found on the margin of almost every Greek and Latin 
author. The pages of Aristophanes, the Attic orators, 
Theocritus, Apollonius Rhodius, Harpocration, Manilius, 
and Valerius Flaccus, are full of emendations. A part of 



226 CLASSICAL STUDIES. 

these annotations were afterwards deposited in the library 
of the university of Leyden. 

The moral and social character of Hemsterhuys was 
not less worthy of remark, than his genius and learning. 
He never sought, in his writings, to injure the good name 
of another. He endeavored to allay the dissensions, 
which sometimes occurred among contemporary scholars. 
He was never forward to assume the position, which his 
unquestioned merits would have justified. Even the 
vanity of the ignorant pretender to knowledge, he 
generally passed by in silence. A certain individual, 
who was often in the circles where he was present, was 
accustomed to talk very familiarly of Pindar, Sophocles, 
and Demosthenes, authors whom he had never read, 
animadverting upon them with the utmost freedom, and, 
as the Latin proverb has it, playing the actor while 
Roscius was present. On one occasion, John Alberti 
and others fastened their eyes on Hemsterhuys, expecting 
that he would rebuke the vanity and impudence of the 
man ; but he uttered not a word. " Why should I not," 
he observed, " let him indulge his darling passion, just 
as I do in the case of others, who, with equal ignorance, 
make their boasts from the pulpit, of acquaintance with 
Greek and oriental learning, when Schultens and myself 
are present ?" 

In his studies, Hemsterhuys did not follow the example 
of some other scholars, and search merely for erudition. 
He repaired to these fountains for true wisdom, for the 
healthful influence, which they might exert on his heart 
and life. There was a simple beauty in his discourse 
and actions, which was very attractive. His words, 
though they might seem, by their . accuracy and elevated 
character, to be premeditated, had not the least savor 
of affectation. His conversation was not destitute of 
pleasantry and Attic wit. His extensive reading supplied 



SCHOOL OF PHILOLOGY IN HOLLAND. 227 

him with many things which seasoned and gave point 
to his observations. Hence his society was sought by 
eminent men in civil life. 

In confirmation of his equanimity and strength of 
character, the following incident is mentioned. When 
he resided at Franeker, two individuals, belonging to a 
noble family, came to share the hospitality of his house 
for two days. Scarcely were the happy circle seated, 
when a letter was handed to him, communicating the 
intelligence, that his son James, a youth of the highest 
promise, and connected with the navy, had died in a 
foreign land. He laid aside the letter, and successfully 
concealed the grief which was consuming his spirits, till 
his guests had departed, unwilling to mar the festivities 
of the visit, by the outburst of sorrow which the news 
would occasion to his family. His firmness reminds 
one of an incident in the life of Xenophon, who, being 
informed, in the midst of a sacrifice, of the death of his 
son Gryllus, went through the solemn service, before he 
gave vent to his grief. 

Hemsterhuys was so simple in his manners, that 
foreigners, who came to attend his instructions, could 
with difficulty be persuaded that the lecturer before 
them was he whose fame had travelled so far. To 
popularity, in its common acceptation, he was wholly 
indifferent. Like some others of the philologists of 
Holland, he was scarcely known to the multitude around 
him. By this total seclusion, he probably erred. In 
civil affairs he never took any part, though he gave 
many proofs in his Lectures on the History of Holland, 
that he was among the last to be charged with a want of 
patriotism. In describing the actions of the great men of 
his country, he appeared more like Polybius or Tacitus, 
than a professor of literature. 



228 CLASSICAL STUDIES. 

It may be added, that Hemsterhuys was professor of 
the history of Holland, at Franeker, from the time he left 
Amsterdam, in 1720, to 1738. In the year 1740, he 
went to Leyden, as professor of the Greek Language and 
of History, where he died on the 7th of April, 1766. 
Among his most important works, are the Onomasticon 
of Julius Pollux, already mentioned, the Select Dialogues 
of Lucian, and the Plutus of Aristophanes. From his 
manuscripts in the possession of the university of Leyden, 
Geel, the librarian, published in 1825, a volume, entitled, 
Anecdota Hemsterhusiana. 

His son, Francis Hemsterhuys, a philosophical writer, 
and an archaeologist, was born in 1720, and died at the 
Hague, in 1790. He had a fine classical education, and 
devoted himself particularly to the philosophy of the 
ancients. The influence of the Socratic school is seen in 
all his writings. His gentlemanly character, the natural 
beauty of his feelings, as well as his knowledge of art, 
secured to him the warm friendship of several noblemen. 
His writings in aesthetics and archaeology are somewhat 
numerous. 

Happily for the interests of classical learning, the effects 
of the labors of the elder Hemsterhuys did not cease with 
his life. His grateful pupils made known his merits 
and developed his principles. Some of them became 
accomplished scholars. Lewis Caspar Valckenaer, who 
was born in 1715, and died in 1785, united great modesty 
to a fundamental and comprehensive acquaintance with 
the languages of antiquity and the connected subjects. 
He studied ancient literature, philosophy, and theology, 
at Franeker, where, in 1741, he Was appointed professor 
of Greek. He edited, with valuable commentaries, 
Theocritus, the Phoenissae and the Hippolytus of 
Euripides, CaUimachus, and the grammarian, Ammonius. 



SCHOOL OF PHILOLOGY IN HOLLAND. 229 

His Qpuscula were published in two volumes, in 1808. 
His name, and that of Euhnken, are still well-known and 
honored, notwithstanding the great advances which have 
been made in philology since their death. Of the life 
and labors of Ruhnken, it is now proposed to give some 
account. 

David Euhnken was born at Stolpe, a village in 
Pomerania, January 2, 1723. His parents spared no 
expense in the education of their numerous family. His 
father was a most respectable citizen, and the principal 
magistrate of the place. David early manifested such a 
love for books, that it was wisely determined to gratify it. 
His mother, a woman of piety, and of great tenderness of 
feeling, fondly hoped, that he would be attracted to the 
study of theology. When very young, he was placed in 
a school which was favored with an excellent teacher, by 
the name of Kniefof. Among his other qualifications, 
he possessed an accurate knowledge of Latin style, and 
sought to imbue the minds of his pupils with a love of 
that which with himself was such a favorite. 

It has been said, that no one can become eminent in 
any science or art, unless three things are combined: 
talent, diligent study, and favorable opportunities. In the 
case of young Ruhnken, all these were happily joined. 
He possessed the enthusiasm, which is the unfailing 
harbinger of success. At a tender age, he began to lay 
a foundation for the elegant superstructure, which he 
afterwards built. From the village school, he went to a 
gymnasium at Konigsberg, where he enjoyed the best 
advantages for pursuing his studies, and where he had 
Immanuel Kant for a fellow-pupil and an intimate friend. 
Kant was, at that time, as enthusiastic in his love of Virgil 
and Horace, as he subsequently was of metaphysical 
researches. 

20 



230 CLASSICAL STUDIES. 

Having finished his studies in the gymnasium, at the age 
of eighteen years, Ruhnken returned home. In selecting 
a university he was at no loss. Gottingen was then 
without a rival, for no other university had a Gesner. 
His parents readily consented, supposing, that his classical 
tendencies would lead him to choose the sacred profession, 
the Greek language "being then studied at the German 
universities, for the most part, only by theological 
students. In his journey to Gottingen, curiosity led him 
to visit Berlin, and also, a number of places in Saxony, 
which were celebrated as seats of learning. Having 
come to "Wittenberg, he called to see professor Berger, 
with whose works he was acquainted. Berger received 
him with much kindness, and introduced him to his 
colleague, professor Eitter. Delighted with their society, 
Ruhnken lingered at Wittenberg a number of days. At 
length, on mature deliberation, he determined to join the 
university there, having first secured the approbation of 
his parents. This change in his plan was not unwise. 
Though Gesner had a far higher reputation than either 
of the "Wittenberg professors, yet his lecture-room was 
so crowded, that he could devote but little time to 
individual students. At Wittenberg, Ruhnken derived 
great assistance from familiar intercourse with his 
teachers. During two years, he attended Berger's 
lectures on eloquence and Roman antiquities, and 
Ritter's, on law and history. He published the fruits 
of his industry, in a little volume, entitled, De Galla 
Placidia. Berger had a fine collection of books, also 
of coins and inscriptions, of which Ruhnken had the 
unrestricted use. Possessing little of that delicate taste 
and nice perception of beauty, which were so characteristic 
of Ruhnken, yet he had very extensive bibliographical 
knowledge, from which his young friend drew largely. 



SCHOOL OF PHILOLOGY IN HOLLAND. 231 

He, also, wrote Latin with great purity and propriety, 
though he knew little of the graces of style. Euhnken paid 
some attention, while at Wittenberg, to logic, mathematics, 
and to the Woman philosophy. The discipline acquired 
by these pursuits, was no unimportant qualification for 
the study of ancient philosophy, which he afterwards 
pursued so zealously. He well knew, moreover, that 
attention to the exact sciences has an important 
influence upon perspicuity and orderly arrangement in 
style. He began to feel the need, however, of more 
adequate instruction in Greek than was supplied by the 
lectures at Wittenberg. He had often heard of the fame 
of the Holland school of philology, founded by Scaliger, 
and now in its glory under Hemsterhuys, at Leyden. 
About this time, Ernesti of Leipsic visited Wittenberg, 
and became acquainted with Ruhnken. He was nearly 
thirteen years older than Ruhnken, and had established a 
high reputation, by his edition of Cicero, and other works. 
He strongly urged Ruhnken to complete his philological 
studies in Holland, affirming, though he was a warm 
friend of Gesner, that Hemsterhuys was the prince 
of classical philologists. This earnest recommendation, 
seconded, as it was, by the advice of the two Wittenberg 
professors, Ruhnken determined to follow. His parents 
yielded their consent with the greatest reluctance, and 
not till Berger had interposed. He then proceeded to 
Holland, and on arriving at Leyden, repaired at once to 
the house of Hemsterhuys, and, without any letter of 
recommendation, told him that he came from Wittenberg 
to Leyden, solely to enjoy his instructions in Greek. 
Hemsterhuys, perceiving that he was no ordinary youth, 
welcomed him with much cordiality, and was greatly 
delighted with his learning, his elegant Latin diction, as 
well as with his ingenuousness and modesty ; while the 
youthful stranger was no less pleased with the sight of 



232 CLASSICAL STUDIES. 

one, who had been, for some time, his beau-ideal of 
excellence. 

Kuhnken soon won the esteem of all with whom he 
came in contact, by his open-heartedness, by the sweet 
simplicity of his manners, by an attractive personal 
appearance, and by his unaffected modesty. Though his 
form could not, perhaps, be pronounced beautiful, yet it 
had such dignity and youthful vigor, there was so much 
joyousness in his countenance, and all the movements of 
his body were so graceful, that, according to the Greek 
proverb, the elegance of his person was worth more than 
a letter of recommendation. He was skilled in those 
exercises which give agility and strength to the limbs. 
He had, also, been taught linear-drawing and music. 
Such were his accomplishments in mind and manners, 
that Hemsterhuys was wont to indicate him to his pupils, 
in no obscure terms, as a model of excellence. Parents, 
also, sought to employ him as a tutor for their sons, 
his example and his instructions being equally salutary. 
Opportunities of this kind he gladly embraced, in order 
that he might obtain the means of enjoying, for a longer 
period, the instructions of Hemsterhuys. He was not 
a favorite of scholars only. His kind heart so shone 
through his face, that the illiterate felt a strong interest 
in him. He would enter into conversation with them as 
pleasantly and artlessly, on hunting, and other subjects 
with which they were familiar, as he did on Greek and 
Latin with his fellow-students. 

Euhnken brought to Leyden so high a reputation for 
knowledge of law, history, antiquities, classical literature, 
and kindred subjects, that he would have adorned any 
chair in these departments. Still, he did not hesitate 
to take his seat with the other pupils of Hemsterhuys, 
many of whom were mere boys, and no one at all on an 
equality with himself. Determining to follow the advice 



SCHOOL OF PHILOLOGY IN HOLLAND. 233 

of Socrates, " to be learned rather than to seem so," he 
laid the foundation anew, by a radical study of the Greek 
language. He fully agreed in opinion with his great 
teacher, that it was preposterous to commence the study 
of the classics with Latin. He counselled those who had 
fallen into this mistake, to recommence their course with 
Greek, and then proceed, in the natural order, to Latin. 
One half of the day he heard the lectures of Hemsterhuys ; 
the other he devoted to private study at home. Beginning 
with the poets, he read Homer afresh, and with signal 
advantage. He then proceeded in chronological order, 
not neglecting Nonnus, Paul the Silentiary, and the later 
Byzantine writers, some traces of the elegance of ancient 
learning being found in their pages. At the same time, 
and with equal care, he read Herodotus, Thucydides, 
Plato, and especially Xenophon. He then studied the 
Latin poets, and finally Cicero, Nepos, and other prose 
writers, whose style is characterized by a native elegance, 
and a chaste simplicity. His method of studying a Greek 
author was the following. He first attended to single 
words, learning the meaning of new terms and those with 
which he was not familiar, by means of etymology and 
usage, or by the lexicons of Stephens, Pollux, Suidas, 
Hesychius, and others, and finally fixing upon the sense 
which the sentence admitted or required. He then 
examined the composition and structure of the entire 
passage, and ascertained the true rendering, in view 
both of the connection of the sense and the demands of 
grammar. The passage thus investigated, he re-perused 
several times, before he proceeded to the next. Finally, 
he read the whole treatise, uninterruptedly, once and 
again. In this manner, he insinuated himself, as it were, 
into the very spirit and usages of his author, as well as 
into the period and country in which he lived, impressing 
on the memory the style of speaking, thinking and 
20* 



234 CLASSICAL STUDIES. 

reasoning, solving many things which, before occasioned 
difficulty, obtaining an exact perception of points 
previously apprehended, and emending texts which were 
corrupt, since he could easily see, in any doubtful 
passage, what sentiment and language the usage and 
genius of the writer demanded. Thus, from the 
exercise of grammatical interpretation, the most accurate 
emendations of the text took their rise, and the best 
critical habits were formed. Ruhnken spared no labor. 
When, by repeated efforts, he could not solve a doubt, 
he marked the passage, and, on the following day, 
applied himself to it with fresh energy. If these 
reiterated attempts were unsuccessful, he sought the aid 
of Hemsterhuys. 

The Holland school of philologists differed from the 
contemporary German, by the extent to which they 
carried the practice of annotation. Gesner and Ernesti, 
with all their excellences, were not skilful verbal critics. 
They studied the ancient authors with the greatest 
assiduity, but they failed to furnish themselves with 
that apparatus of pertinent notes, which are necessary 
for ready proof and illustration. On the other hand, 
Hemsterhuys and his disciples spared no pains in 
this branch of classical study. A passage, worthy of 
particular note, on any account, was exactly copied, and 
placed, according to a certain order, in a note-book, 
called Adversaria. The advantages of this plan, if it 
does not degenerate into mere mechanical labor, are 
obvious. Mutual light is cast by a comparison of similar 
passages. The memory is aided, much time is saved, 
and a valuable digest of examples is prepared against a 
time of need. It may be doubted, however, whether the 
Leyden scholars did not pursue the practice so far, that it 
became a burden to the intellect. 



SCHOOL OF PHILOLOGY IN HOLLAND. 235 

In 1749, Ruhnken published a little volume, entitled, 
Epistoke Criticse, two in number, one respecting Homer 
and Hesiod, addressed to Valckenaer, and the other 
on Callimachus and Apollonius Rhodius, dedicated to 
Ernesti. The latter was then preparing a new edition of 
Callimachus, as Valckenaer was of Homer. Ruhnken's 
work was not confined to the matters indicated by its title. 
It embraced remarks on the Epigrams, the Orphic Poems, 
on Hesychius, and other lexicographers. It was written 
with the fulness of learning, and in the beautiful Latin 
style, which might have been expected of the author. At 
the same time, he assisted John Alberti in bringing out 
his edition of Hesychius. He also accompanied that 
theologian, who was then ill, to the waters at Spaa, in 
Belgium. By this journey, he greatly extended the circle 
of his literary acquaintance. 

Hemsterhuys, fearing that some lucrative offer from 
abroad might induce Ruhnken to leave Holland, was 
very desirous to procure a professorship for him in some 
university in that country. No place, however, was vacant. 
At Leyden, were Hemsterhuys, Oudendorp, and Alberti ; 
at Utrecht, Drakenborch and Duker, who were succeeded 
by Wesseling and Saxius ; D'Orville was at Amsterdam. 
At Franeker, were Valckenaer, Burmann the younger, and 
soon after, Schrader ; van Lennep was at Groningen. In 
Valckenaer's school, Pierson and Koen were coming 
forward. Elsewhere, were Hoogeveen, Bondam, Roever, 
Heringa, and Bernard. The most distinguished of these 
scholars were Hemsterhuys, Wesseling, and Valckenaer. 
The fourth place was unanimously given to Ruhnken, 
though but twenty-nine years of age. On account of this 
affluence of eminent scholars, he returned, by the advice 
of Hemsterhuys, to the study of law, which he had 
commenced under Ritter, at Wittenberg. In 1750, he 
published a small treatise on this subject, which gave 



236 



CLASSICAL STUDIES. 



sufficient proof of his learned industry. He then devoted 
himself to the preparation of a new edition of the Platonic 
Lexicon of Timaeus. This work, as it has come to us, is 
a small vocabulary of the rarer and more exquisite words 
which are found in Plato, grammatically explained, but 
not furnished with any critical or rhetorical apparatus. A 
preface was prefixed by Ruhnken, treating of the Platonic 
diction, the authority of the text, and the value of the 
ancient grammarians and annotators on Plato. 

Ruhnken had now been ten years in Holland. His 
German friends feared, that he would never return to 
his native land. To the letters of Ernesti and others, 
promising, that they would secure him a professorship in 
a German university, he replied, that he did not wish to 
quit his adopted country ; that its climate was agreeable ; 
that he had become strongly attached to the people, 
especially to his literary associates, and that the civil 
freedom, which was enjoyed in Holland, had peculiar 
charms for him. 

Ruhnken spent the year 1755 in Paris, for the purpose 
of examining the manuscripts in two of the public 
libraries. Full access was allowed him to all the treasures 
which they contained. He was even permitted to carry 
manuscripts from the libraries to his own lodgings. His 
labors were so extraordinary, that his friends called him, 
laughingly, "Hercules Musagetes." He prepared an 
account of many inedited grammarians, scholiasts, and 
rhetoricians, and collated manuscripts of Homer, Hesiod, 
Plato, Xenophon, Apollonius Rhodius, and other authors. 
While in Paris, he formed an acquaintance with two 
Englishmen, who were eminent classical scholars, the 
physician, Samuel Musgrave, and Thomas Tyrwhitt, a 
youth of elegant learning, and of independent fortune. 

Ruhnken had intended to visit Spain, and examine 
the manuscripts in two or three libraries, but the mass 



SCHOOL OF PHILOLOGY IN HOLLAND. 



237 



of notes which he had accumulated in Paris, and 
which he wished to arrange, as well as the advice of 
Hemsterhuys, induced him to return immediately to 
Holland. His venerable friend, being now advanced in 
life, and less able to undergo the fatigues of teaching, 
applied to Ruhnken to assist him. He complied with the 
request, not altogether willingly, as he was aware, that 
Valckenaer was expected to succeed Hemsterhuys, while 
a short course of teaching Greek would not be specially 
connected with his duties as professor of eloquence and 
history, should he succeed, as it was designed, the aged 
Oudendorp. The subject of his inaugural address was, 
" Greece the mother of science and art." His course of 
instruction, as an assistant to Hemsterhuys, included 
some of the principal Greek authors, and parts of the 
New Testament. At the end of four years, he was 
elected to the chair of history and eloquence, vacated by 
the death of Oudendorp. The elevation of a foreigner to 
this important post occasioned some complaint, especially 
on the part of the younger Burmann, and Schrader, 
both of whom had been looking with a wishful eye 
to the Leyden professorship. But the superior claims 
of Ruhnken were well-known, and almost universally 
acknowledged. If foreign descent was an objection, the 
same thing might have been urged against Scaliger, 
Salmasius, Gerard Vossius, and other illustrious scholars. 
Besides, Ruhnken had now lived eighteen years in 
Holland, and was strongly attached to the land of his 
adoption. 

He commenced his labors by carefully reading all the 
Latin authors, chronologically, as he had before done 
with the Greek, and in as thorough a manner as if he 
had been expecting to edit them. The branches which 
he taught were general history, Roman antiquities, 
and the interpretation of the Latin classics. The last 



238 CLASSICAL STUDIES. 

two were embraced under the head of eloquence. He 
taught history by written lectures, often interspersing 
extemporaneous illustrations, and imparting much interest 
by his observations upon the government, literary progress 
and morals of the nations that came under review. No 
one, perhaps, was more popular in lecturing on general 
history, — a subject most difficult to treat in an interesting 
manner, — than Ruhnken, if we except Wesseling. The 
latter taught his overflowing classes memoriter, walking 
among them with nothing in his hand, except a slight 
memorandum, containing a few dates and proper names. 
His success was owing as much to his manner as to his 
learning. In Roman antiquities, Ruhnken employed notes, 
prepared in the most careful manner, and comprehending 
in respect to the Roman people whatever it was important 
to know. The authors that were most frequently read, 
were Terence, Suetonius, and parts of Cicero and Ovid. 

Hemsterhuys, who died in 1766, was succeeded by 
Valckenaer. Thenceforward Ruhnken and Valckenaer 
were united in the closest intimacy. Both were the 
pupils of the same master, and both were profound Greek 
scholars. Yet there were many points of dissimilarity. 
In Hemsterhuys, reason was predominant. He approached 
a subject, as it were, by calculation. In Valckenaer, was 
the rapidity of genius. He did not weigh ; he saw by 
intuition. He excelled in powers of invention. Ruhnken 
stood midway between his master and his fellow-disciple. 
He had genius, but it was under the control of judgment. 
Valckenaer had a wonderful sagacity in investigating and 
putting in order the fragments of poets, scattered and 
hidden among all the monuments of antiquity, — a species 
of criticism in which Scaliger and Bentley excelled. He 
did not find his pleasure, like Ruhnken, among glosses, 
scholiasts, grammarians, or inedited manuscripts. He 
sought a thorough insight into the genius of the language, 



SCHOOL OF PHILOLOGY IN HOLLAND. 239 

its analogy, origin and dialects. He was at home, also, 
in sacred criticism and church history, having studied 
under Schultens and Venema. Euhnken had little 
knowledge of the Christian fathers, those excepted 
who joined elegance of taste to learning. He made 
ample amends, however, by his acquaintance with the 
commentators on Plato, and Aristotle, with the civilians 
and antiquarians, with coins and inscriptions. Either 
could have adorned the professorship of the other. 
Valckenaer had read all the Latin writers, but it was 
with a view to the illustration of Greek. Euhnken had 
read both Greek and Latin for their own sake. He had 
a grace, a happy dexterity, which was not possessed by 
Valckenaer. He made a beautiful arrangement of his 
materials. Such an equal light is cast over the whole, as 
greatly to delight the reader. Valckenaer's Latin style, 
though chaste and elegant, did not possess that natural 
beauty, that simple grace, that luminous distinctness, which 
almost place Euhnken among the best of the Eomans. 
Valckenaer, as Hemsterhuys had done, read a multitude 
of the books of the day, Dutch and French. Euhnken 
refrained almost wholly, except from works which 
pertained to his profession. He nearly lost the use of 
German. He employed Dutch and French for the 
common purposes of life. All his care was expended in 
writing Latin, till he attained a style which was nearly 
faultless. In the lecture-room, Valckenaer had the 
advantage. His manner reminded one of what Horace 
says of Pindar : " Fervet immensusque ruit pro/undo 
Pindarics ore." His voice was deep-toned and sonorous ; 
his appearance was grave and imposiDg ; in his language 
there was a happy intermingling of poetical phraseology. 
When he was a young man, he had the gravity of age, 
as was the case, also, with Hemsterhuys and Ernesti. 
Euhnken, in his advanced years, had the freshness and 



240 CLASSICAL STUDIES. 

agility of youth. Hence the common people thought him 
much less learned than Valckenaer. The latter was 
sometimes melancholy. Euhnken preserved his youthful 
feelings, as well as features, to old age. In this happy 
literary companionship, they passed their lives, till the 
death of Valckenaer, which took place in March, 1785. 

The place thus vacated, was offered to Wyttenbach, 
who was then at Amsterdam, but was declined. It was 
finally accepted by I. G. Te Water, a learned theologian 
and scholar, who is well known by his edition of the 
works of Jabslonsky. In 1786, Euhnken published a 
portion of the Metamorphoses of Appuleius, which had 
been edited by Oudendorp. In 1788, three valuable 
works appeared from his pen, a new edition of Timaeus, 
and of the Eulogy on Hemsterhuys, and the works of 
Muretus. The Timaeus was greatly enlarged and 
thoroughly corrected. The elegant Latin diction of the 
Eulogy was still further polished. In 1792, he assisted in 
preparing for schools the Latin Lexicon of Scheller, with 
a preface, which has received the highest commendation 
of scholars. During the two following years, he was 
much afflicted by personal infirmity, and by the death of 
two individuals of the fairest promise. These were the 
younger Schultens, the grandson of Albert Schultens, 
and Nieuwland. Schultens was appointed professor at 
Amsterdam when he was only twenty-four years of age. 
He then succeeded his father at Leyden. He had studied 
under Valckenaer and Euhnken, and fully answered the 
high hopes which they had formed of him. Nieuwland 
was the son of a poor man in the vicinity of Amsterdam, 
and was marked, even in infancy, by an extraordinary 
precocity of talent. His memory was so retentive, that 
he often said he found more difficulty in forgetting, 
than in remembering, what he had once heard or read. 
According to the statement of Wyttenbach, he was alike 



SCHOOL OF PHILOLOGY IN HOLLAND. 241 

at home in mathematics and poetry. He was lecturer on 
mathematics at Amsterdam three years, and professor of 
mathematics and physics at Leyden one year. The 
simplicity and modesty of childhood he retained till his 
death, which happened in the thirtieth year of his age. 

In 1795, Euhnken was highly gratified by the receipt 
of Wolf's Homer from the editor himself. This was 
doubly pleasing, as it was also dedicated to him. By this 
unexpected gift, he was led to collect the notes which 
he had written on Homer at various times. Such 
testimonies of affection and respect from the most eminent 
foreign scholars alleviated the cares of advancing age, 
and drew off his thoughts from the horrors of that stormy 
period. 

During the last years of his life, though his bodily 
infirmities were constantly increasing, yet his mind 
continued serene and undisturbed. He would often say, 

" Vitse summa brevis spem nos vetat inchoare longam ;" 

yet adding, in reference to a projected work on Plato, 
"Extremum hunc ; Arethusa, mihi concede laborem." 

He died on the twenty-fourth of May, 1798. Among 
the works which he published, in addition to those 
already mentioned, were Rutilius Lupus, on Metaphorical 
Language, — a new edition of which was published at 
Leipsic in 1831, — a treatise particularly important for 
the students of Greek and Roman literature ; the works 
of Velleius Paterculus, in two volumes; and his own 
Opuscula, a second edition of which, in two volumes, was 
published by Bergman, in Leyden, in 1823. The letters of 
Euhnken, Valckenaer, and others, to Ernesti; the letters of 
Ruhnken to Valckenaer, and of Valckenaer to Ruhnken ; 
and Ruhnken's miscellaneous letters, have been published 
since his death. 
21 



242 CLASSICAL STUDIES. 

The biographer of Ruhnken, in summing up his 
character, compares him to the Theaetetus of Plato, 
calm, gentle, equable, unwavering in his purpose, like a 
perennial stream, not disappearing in the time of drought, 
not breaking over its banks in the storms of winter. Of 
the two English critics, Markland and Toup, the former 
was distinguished for reason, the latter, for genius. 
Ruhnken was eminent in both these respects, guiding his 
genius by reason, strengthening his reason by genius. 
The learning of Ernesti, though splendid, partook rather 
of the nature of reason than of genius, was expended 
more in the exercise of judgment than of invention. His 
emendations of a corrupt text were numerous and acute ; 
but they were not original. But in forming a judgment 
of the conjectures of others, in estimating the character 
of writers and editors, his sound mind appeared to the 
highest advantage. On the other hand, Ruhnken was 
equally at home in both departments of criticism. He 
was keen and happy in his conjectural emendations, clear 
and convincing in the opinions which he expressed of the 
labors of others. 

In erudition, Ruhnken has rarely been excelled. 
By confining his attention wholly to the two classical 
languages, he became a master of almost every thing 
which they contain. There was no Greek or Latin poet, 
philosopher, historian, orator, rhetorician, grammarian, 
lexicographer, scholiast, commentator on Plato or Aristotle, 
no author of any kind, edited or inedited, in a word, there 
was no monument of ancient classical learning, which 
was not known, marked, copied or referred to in his 
note-books. 

The perfection of Ruhnken's Latin style has been before 
mentioned. This subject he had studied with the utmost 
diligence. In his general reading, he carefully marked 
every thing which deviated from the taste of the Augustan 



SCHOOL OF PHILOLOGY IN HOLLAND. 243 

age. In the selection of words and phrases, he disliked 
to come down even to the time of Seneca. He followed 
no single model in his style, but endeavored to combine 
the gravity, force, copiousness and majesty of Cicero, 
with the gentleness, ease, native and simple grace of 
Nepos. 

The literary correspondence of Euhnken was extensive. 
The kindness of his heart was exhibited in a thousand 
cases by his replies to the inquiries of those who were 
total strangers, by giving personal counsels to all who 
applied, and by the donation of notes and papers, 
which he had prepared with much labor, to those who 
were publishing classical works. Among his foreign 
correspondents were Gesner, Ernesti, Heyne, Heusinger, 
Musgrave, Toup, Villoison, Hottinger, Schweighauser, 
Brunck, Matthiae, Voss, De Rossi, Burgess, Porson, 
Wolf and Spalding. 

Among the moral qualities of Ruhnken was frankness. 
He spoke out what he thought. He was so entirely free 
from vanity, that he appeared less learned than many 
others, while, at the same time, he had a thorough 
knowledge of his own capacities and acquirements. In a 
conversation with his friends, allusion was made to the 
great merits of Villoison. " True," replied Ruhnken, 
"Villoison is an accomplished young man, but he ought 
to have come here, and attended the instructions of myself 
and Valckenaer." This remark appeared to savor of pride, 
yet it was nothing but the candid expression of his own 
consciousness. It reminds one of the saying of Chrysippus, 
the Stoic, who, being asked by a friend, to whom he should 
entrust the education of his son, replied, " To me, for if I 
knew any one better than I am, I would place myself 
under his care." 

Ruhnken's character was remarkably consistent. His 
gentle feelings shone out on all occasions. In social 



244 CLASSICAL STUDIES. 

intercourse, no one could be more affable and urbane than 
James Gronovius ; but when he took up his pen, there 
was a total transformation ; like Milton's Moloch, " his 
sentence was for open war." So of professor Schrader. 
In the intercourse of daily life, he was modest to an 
extreme ; but in emending a book, none could wrangle 
better than he. He would collect the mistakes of 
distinguished scholars, even on the quantity of syllables, 
and show them off in triumph. Euhnken did not think 
it right to pass in silence the errors of great men ; he 
would rather correct them, on account of the greater 
injury that would ensue, through the celebrity of their 
authors. Still, he grieved at the necessity. He did 
not divest himself of the feelings of a brother, when he 
assumed the critical office. He never exulted in detecting 
a mistake, as if he were to acquire laurels in such an 
insignificant business. 

Yet, though Ruhnken was mild in his manners, 
possibly to a fault, he could ill bear the vanity and 
pedantic affectation, which he was sometimes compelled 
to encounter. On one occasion, he received a visit from 
a Swede, a man of learning, but excessively troublesome, 
whose unseasonable calls reminded the Leyden professors 
of an irruption of the old northern barbarians. Ruhnken, 
while showing him the library, opened a case, which 
contained the manuscripts of Joseph Scaliger. " Hie est ille 
vir expectans judicium" exclaimed the Swede, alluding 
to the inscription on Scaliger's tomb. At the same time, 
he stoutly argued, that Scaliger was no critic. " Begone 
with your stupidity," thundered Ruhnken suddenly in 
his ears, at the same moment pushing in the lid of the 
case of manuscripts. The northman fled in terror. On 
another occasion, a German professor, who was inflated 
with self-esteem, asked Ruhnken to show him the library, 
at the same time telling him of some very learned Germans, 



SCHOOL OF PHILOLOGY IN HOLLAND. 245 

who had written books full of erudition in their vernacular 
language. " I wish," said Ruhnken, " that they had 
written in Latin, as Gesner, Ernesti, and Heyne did, so 
that they might be more read by foreigners." "Are you, 
then, my good sir," rejoined the stranger, " still involved 
in the error of supposing, that there will be any more 
writing of Latin in this age ?" Ruhnken, indignant at 
his self-complacency, added, " Good-by, Mr. Professor, 
seek some other library, where you may find German 
books." 

Ruhnken was married, when he was forty-one years 
old, to Mariamne, the youngest daughter of Gerard 
Heirmans, who had been a merchant in Amsterdam, and 
a consul in Italy. She was a young lady of rare mental, 
as well as of personal accomplishments. The severe 
afflictions which befell her, and her youngest daughter, 
are mentioned in the correspondence of Wyttenbach, in 
another part of this volume. Ruhnken bore these sad 
visitations with much patience and equanimity, though 
when they first occurred, he was nearly overwhelmed, 
and was obliged, on several occasions, to leave his 
lecture-room in a paroxysm of grief. His affections 
were of the gentlest kind, and remarkably fitted to the 
happy scenes of domestic life. The virtues and faithful 
attentions of his eldest daughter contributed much to 
encourage his desponding heart. 

In concluding these notices of Ruhnken's life, it may 
be added, that reliance has not been placed simply on 
the testimony of his affectionate biographer and pupil, 
Wyttenbach. In relation to his rare classical learning, as 
well as to the better virtues of his heart, there is but one 
voice. In Germany, and almost at the distance of half a 
century from his death, his name is mentioned only with 
respect and admiration. 
21* 



246 CLASSICAL STUDIES. 

The friend and biographer of Ruhnken, and one of the 
most celebrated philologists of Holland, was Daniel 
Wyttenbach. He caught the falling mantle of his 
master, and carried to the study of antiquity the same 
intelligence and the same irrepressible enthusiasm. His 
lectures and his writings have shed an enduring lustre 
upon the university where he taught, and upon his 
adopted country. He was born at Berne, in Switzerland, 
August 7, 1746. One of his ancestors was a teacher of 
the reformers, Zuingle and Leo Judas. His father was 
professor of theology, first at Berne, and afterwards at 
Marburg. His early education appears to have been 
conducted, almost exclusively, under the paternal roof. 
He was ten years of age when his father removed to 
Marburg. At the age of fourteen, he was admitted to the 
university of that place, where he spent the four following 
years. But his peculiar genius was not yet developed. 
The course of studies was very extensive, and ill-fitted to 
a youth of the peculiar susceptibilities of Wyttenbach. 
The professors, though estimable men, were not Gesners 
nor Heynes. Their instructions appear to have been 
communicated in a rigid and formal manner, and breathed 
little of the spirit of genuine scholarship. The elder 
Wyttenbach was a man of excellent character, but 
somewhat stern, and without a particle of that genius 
which glowed in the bosom of his son. In the treatment 
of the religious feelings of that son, he showed but little 
judgment or humanity. No wonder the youth sighed for 
deliverance. His history at this period is thus described, 
in the course of some directions, which he subsequently 
addressed to his pupils. 

" When I was in my eighteenth year, I had learned 
about as much Greek, as you have generally acquired 
after being with me four months. I had attended the 



SCHOOL OF PHILOLOGY IN HOLLAND. 247 

lectures of the professors, both in literature and in the 
severer sciences, with no great advantage. I appeared to 
others to have made progress, but not to myself. I was 
weary of the toil. I wanted space to soar higher. I 
returned to my studies, and began to review them 
privately. Though I had advanced somewhat further 
than I had gone when attending the lectures of the 
professors, yet it was in a manner which did not at all 
correspond to my expectations, and I gave it up in 
disgust. I proceeded from one study to another in the 
course, yet all were wearisome and repulsive ; and yet, 
like one whose appetite is disordered, I was continually 
seeking for some intellectual food. I remembered the 
pleasure which I had enjoyed, when a boy, in the study 
of Greek. I searched for the books which I had formerly 
read. I took out of a corner Plutarch's treatise on the 
Education of Boys, and read it once and again, with 
much effort, but little pleasure. Then I went over with 
Herodian, which afforded me a little more enjoyment, but 
was far from satisfying my mind. I accidentally found, 
elsewhere, Xenophon's Memorabilia, Ernesti's edition, 
which I had before known only by name. I was 
captivated with the indescribable sweetness of that author. 
The grounds of it I better understood afterwards. In 
studying this treatise, I made it a point never to begin a 
section without re-perusing the preceding ; nor a chapter 
or book, without studying the preceding chapter and book 
a second time. Having, at length, completed the work in 
this manner, I again read the whole in course. It 
occupied me almost three months ; but such unceasing 
repetition was most serviceable to me." 

By the help of Ernesti's notes, Wyttenbach acquired 
some skill in criticism, as well as bibliographical 
knowledge. He then determined to read the Greek 
authors in chronological order, and thus lay a foundation 



248 CLASSICAL STUDIES. 

for the superstructure which he was intending to build by 
means of other branches of learning. 

" I began upon Homer. When a boy, I had studied 
about a hundred lines of the first book of the Iliad. This 
book I finished in two months, reviewing it in the same 
manner that I had the Memorabilia. I continued the 
study of Homer more as a task than as a pleasure. I did 
not yet recognize that divine genius. Many other youth, 
as I happen to know, have had the same experience. In 
consequence, I read Xenophon in connection with Homer, 
devoting the greater part of my time to his works. They 
were so easy to be understood, that I, as it were, devoured 
them. I was rarely compelled to use a lexicon, for nearly 
every thing was intelligible from the context. I made use 
of a Latin version, which was advantageous to one of 
my age, but is never so in schools. All the works of 
Xenophon, the Memorabilia excepted, I read four times 
in four months. I now thought that I could read any 
author with equal ease. I took up Demosthenes. I had 
a copy without a Latin translation, but accompanied by 
the Greek notes of Jerome Wolf. Darkness itself! But 
I had learned not to be frightened in setting out. I went 
on. I found greater difficulties than I had ever had 
before, both in the words, and in the length of the 
sentences. At last, with much ado, I reached the end 
of the first Olynthiac. I then read it a second and a third 
time. Every thing now appeared plain and clear. Still, 
I did not yet perceive the fire of eloquence for which he 
is distinguished. I hesitated whether to proceed to the 
second oration, or again read the first. I resolved to do 
the latter. How salutary are the effects of such a review! 
As I read, an altogether new and unknown feeling took 
possession of me. In perusing other authors, my pleasure 
had arisen from a perception of the thoughts and words, 
or from a consciousness of my own progress. Now, an 



SCHOOL OF PHILOLOGY IN HOLLAND. 249 

extraordinary feeling pervaded my mind, and increased 
with every fresh perusal. I saw the orator on fire, in 
anguish, impetuously borne forward. I was inflamed 
also, and carried on upon the same tide. I was conscious 
of a new elevation of soul, and was no longer the same 
individual. I seemed myself to be Demosthenes, standing 
on the bema, pouring forth this oration, and urging the 
Athenians to emulate the bravery and glory of their 
ancestors. Neither did I read silently, as I had begun, 
but with a loud voice, to which I was secretly impelled 
by the force and fervor of the sentiments, as well as 
by the power of oratorical rhythm. In this manner, I 
read, in the course of three months, most of the orations of 
Demosthenes. My ability to understand an author being 
thus increased, I took more delight in Homer, whom I 
soon finished. Afterwards, I studied other great authors, 
with far more profit." 

Having completed the study of Demosthenes,Wyttenbach 
next repaired to Plato, not only reading the dialogues, but 
writing annotations upon them, as if he were intending to 
lecture upon the subject. As he strolled along the shady 
walks of Marburg, he was accustomed to carry, in his 
pocket, leaves of Plato's works, as his father, when he 
wandered in his youth, among the Alps, had taken scraps 
of Xenophon. From his friend, Hassencamp, he procured 
Kuhnken's Timaeus. " Then I began to know," he 
writes, " that the study of Plato is not only useful in 
itself, through the influence which it exerts on the 
manners, the intellect, the moral character, the style 
of writing, — also, by its promoting an elegant delivery, 
and a thorough acquaintance with Greek literature and 
philosophy, — but that it is far more useful, from the fact, 
that it enables all scholars, who have lived subsequently, 
to understand the Greek and Eoman authors correctly, 
the effects of the study of Plato being diffused through 



250 



CLASSICAL STUDIES. 



them all, and even through the whole circle of ancient 
knowledge." 

Having completed the study of Plato, Wyttenbach 
commenced reading, in chronological order, the other 
principal Greek authors, both in prose and verse. He 
made it, however, his main object, to obtain a favorable 
introduction to Ruhnken, who was now constantly in his 
thoughts. Accordingly, he commenced the study of 
Julian, Plutarch, and other philosophers and rhetoricians 
of that age, with the design of emending them, by the 
aid of earlier writers, particularly of Plato, after the 
example of Ruhnken in his annotations on Timaeus. 

In August, 1768, Wyttenbach went to Gottingen, in 
order to enjoy the instructions and counsels of Heyne, 
and the literary helps which were so abundant in that 
university. In 1769, he published, as the first fruits of his 
studies, a " Critical Epistle to David Ruhnken, on some 
passages in the Works of the emperor Julian, together with 
Annotations on Eunapius and Aristaenetus." Ruhnken 
returned the following answer : " I have read your Tract, 
and it far surpasses the expectation which Heyne had 
created respecting it. For, as I may truly say, I hardly 
thought that there was any one in Germany who had 
made so much proficiency in studies of this nature, and 
had united such knowledge of Greek with true critical 
ability. I admire the light of your intellect, which shines 
out in so many fine conjectures, but much more the 
accurate judgment, especially in one of your age. From 
these not deceptive omens, I predict, that if you hold on 
in the same course, you will become, at length, a great 
ornament and defence of our literature. You only seem 
to have a too humble opinion of your own ability in this 
branch of letters. But remember what Quintilian said 
in a similar case, ' He has made much proficiency in 
Greek, with whom Plato is a favorite.' " 



SCHOOL OF PHILOLOGY IN HOLLAND. 251 

Wyttenbach now naturally turned his attention to the 
philologists of Holland, and examined with admiration 
some of their principal works. By the advice of 
Heyne, he read, with diligence and deep interest, the 
promiennt Latin writers, having formed as yet but 
a slight acquaintance with them. Proceeding with 
Cicero, he read in order the poets and historians, 
recognizing traces every where, as he remarked, of 
Greek subjects, sentiments, and idioms, transplanted to a 
foreign soil. 

About the same time, by the advice of Heyne, he began 
a correspondence with Ruhnken and Valckenaer. This 
awakened in him a strong desire to visit Holland, which 
he was soon able to gratify. With the consent of his 
father, and the strong recommendation of Heyne, he 
accordingly proceeded to Leyden in 1770. He thus 
speaks of his impressions, on being introduced to Ruhnken 
and Valckenaer. " It would be difficult to describe my 
emotions on seeing those whom I had almost worshipped; 
but still more difficult to describe my admiration, when I 
beheld such eminent qualities, as they possessed, united 
to so much humanity. I had been acquainted with 
professors elsewhere, who affected an air of gravity and 
of profound wisdom, when in the presence of their pupils 
and of the less educated, and often when they were with 
men of equal or greater learning. These I could never 
endure. Yet, it had occurred to me, that if such a style 
of manners is ever tolerable, it seemed to me, that I could 
put up with it only in the two Leyden scholars. To 
them I will concede it. Should they assume a haughty 
bearing, their merits will be an apology. But there was 
nothing of the kind in their deportment. There was not 
a particle of superciliousness or pretension. Every thing 
was sincere, simple, and modest, and in accordance with 
those terms of gentlemanly equality, of which no one is 



252 CLASSICAL STUDIES. 

ignorant, and to which no one would refuse to conform, 
who seeks, in the writings of the ancients, the genuine 
fruits of wisdom. I spent a year in Ley den, attending 
the exercises of Euhnken and Valckenaer, and, at the 
same time, preparing an edition of the treatise of Plutarch, 
on the Delay of Divine Justice. I also studied the 
classical authors, that I had not already perused, and 
collated some manuscripts which I found in the library. 
Meanwhile, the Society of Remonstrants sought an 
individual to take the chair of literature and philosophy 
in their celebrated school at Amsterdam. Through the 
influence of Ruhnken and Valckenaer, it was offered to 
me, and by their advice I accepted it." 

Wyttenbach entered on his duties in Amsterdam in 
November, 1771. He remained in that city twenty-eight 
years, the first eight in the school of the Remonstrants 
or Arminians, and the remainder as professor in the 
Athenaeum, which appears to have been a university in 
all but the name. In teaching logic and metaphysics, 
he made much use of Greek writers on the subject. 
In company with de Bosch and Temminck, he read 
Sophocles, Euripides, and Aristophanes. In his private 
studies, he included authors in both the classical languages, 
besides a daily exercise in writing Latin. He also made 
ample preparations for an edition of Plutarch's Morals. 
In a short time, he became strongly attached to his new 
residence. His social feelings were gratified in the 
company of such men as van Lennep, Cras, and de 
Bosch, and in the correspondence and occasional visits of 
Ruhnken. The citizens of Amsterdam, likewise, treated 
him with marked attention, viewing the residence of so 
eminent a scholar among them as an honor to the city. 
His relations to the overseers of the Athenaeum were of 
the most honorable kind. A professorship of philosophy 
was established solely on his account. When he declined 



SCHOOL OF PHILOLOGY IN HOLLAND. 253 

a call to a foreign university, a liberal addition was made 
to his salary. 

In 1775, Wyttenbach went to Paris, where he remained 
six months, examining manuscripts in the royal library. 
Among his other labors, he collated twelve manuscripts of 
Plutarch. He formed an acquaintance with D'Alembert, 
Sainte Croix, Villoison, and other eminent scholars. 
After recovering from an illness, which had nearly proved 
fatal, he returned to Amsterdam, and resumed his duties 
with fresh zeal. The critical materials on Plutarch, 
which he '■ had collected at Paris, he reduced to order. 
He then carefully reviewed the whole ground, including 
the books which he had formerly read, and his own 
annotations. In 1777, the first two parts of his Bibliotheca 
Critica appeared. The work was published in numbers, 
and finally reached three volumes, the last of which was 
printed in 1809. It included essays, criticisms, notices of 
books, etc., and somewhat resembled the modern reviews. 
He took a particular interest in a course of lectures, which 
he delivered on the history of philosophy, comprehending, 
under six divisions, the long period from the rise of 
Grecian philosophy, in the time of Thales, to the death 
of Christian Wolff. In 1777, and 1782, he obtained two 1 
prizes for essays on the questions, Can the Unity of God 
be demonstrated by reason, and if so, by what arguments ? 
and, What were the opinions of the ancient philosophers, 
from Thales to Seneca, on the state of the soul after 
death? 

In 1788, Wyttenbach received a visit from Thomas 
Burgess, an eminent English scholar, afterwards bishop' 
of Salisbury, on behalf of the delegates of the Oxford 
press, who wished to print an edition of Plutarch, under 
the superintendence of Wyttenbach. They were led to 
make this proposal, by the ability with which he had 
edited the tract of Plutarch, that has been already 
22 



254 CLASSICAL STUDIES. 

mentioned. The Oxford scholars also wished to retrieve 
the character of their press from the injury which it had 
suffered hy the publication of some incorrect editions of 
the classics, particularly an edition of Euripides, printed 
after the death of Musgrave, its editor. An arrangement 
was, accordingly, entered into by Wyttenbach for the 
publication of Plutarch's Morals. It appeared at Oxford, 
between the years 1795 and 1800, in two forms, quarto 
and octavo, the latter in six volumes. Two volumes 
of Annotations, in quarto, were published between 1810 
and 1820. This may be regarded as Wyttenbach's great 
work. The copy, which he used, was the Greek and 
Latin edition, folio, of 1624. He first emended the Greek 
text, by the aid of manuscripts, and then made the Latin 
translation conform. On the lower margin, which is 
large, a recension of the manuscripts is inserted in smaller 
type, with the most approved conjectural readings. In 
1793, he published a valuable book for schools, entitled, 
Selections from the principal Historians. 

The manners and general habits of Wyttenbach, at this 
time, may be learned from some notices of him, by his 
disciple, Philip van Heusde, for many years professor at 
Utrecht, and well known as a zealous Platonist. They 
are found in the Preface to his Introduction to the 
Platonic Philosophy, and are addressed to Creuzer, of 
Heidelberg. 

"I was pleased with my father's plan, that I should 
attend the celebrated instructions of Cras, at Amsterdam, 
because they were connected, as I understood, with the 
study of Cicero, and of ancient philosophy; but the most 
pleasing circumstance of all was, that it would furnish 
me ready access to that prince of Platonic interpreters, 
Wyttenbach, who had been in my thoughts day and 
night. Accordingly, when I called upon him, — it was 
evening, the time and place I well remember, — he asked 



SCHOOL OF PHILOLOGY IN HOLLAND. 255 

me, at once, about my studies, and the proficiency which 
I had made in them. I mentioned the writers with whom 
I had been occupied, particularly the poets. He gave me 
a book which was at hand, and showed me a passage to 
read and translate. The book was his lately edited 
Historical Selections, the passage, the description by 
Thucydides, of the plague at Athens. I read with 
embarrassment, and translated in a bungling manner. 
Mention was accidentally made of Plato. ' Have you 
read Plato, then ?' said he. ' I have not read him,' I 
replied, 'but I have run over the Apology and the 
Phaedo ; yet I wish to read and understand him, and I 
have come to Amsterdam, with the hope of enjoying your 
lectures, and, if permitted, your advice and conversation.' 
He was pleased with my answer; at least, his whole 
appearance was at once changed; the wrinkled brow 
became smooth; the severe aspect, assumed towards a 
tyro blundering in his reading and translation, vanished. 
His countenance became wonderfully mild and winning. 
' Go on,' said he, ' as you have begun, for he is not to be 
despaired of who has begun to like Plato, as Quintilian 
said of Cicero. Do you know these authors V He then 
ordered wine. As we sat down to our Socratic cups, as 
he called them, we chatted most delightfully. Whenever 
I recall that evening, as I do very often, I am filled with 
admiration at his truly Socratic spirit. His conversation, 
first concerning Quintilian and Cicero, then Plato, was 
remarkably fitted to elicit whatever thoughts I had. This 
I afterwards understood. At that time, I did not think of 
any thing of the kind. I could only answer his questions. 
" In the Socratic art, as I found by my own experience, 
Wyttenbach excelled. Hence, it is not strange, that his 
method of instruction was useful to the young in a 
degree equalled by few. It was a medium between two 
extremes, both of which it is difficult to avoid. On the 



256 CLASSICAL STUDIES, 

one hand, it was not harsh or severe, fitted to repress the 
feelings rather than to excite them, and to form men of 
a melancholy cast. On the other hand, it was not of 
a too facile and compliant nature, adapted to train men 
of a shallow and trifling character. He had the rare 
quality of directing his energies wholly to the subject in 
hand, without deviating into those intricate and fruitless 
digressions, where diligence is almost wholly lost. No 
one ever approved or defended the method of grammatical 
interpretation more strenuously than he. Yet he was not 
a grammarian in the vulgar sense, a stickler for words 
and syllables. He always referred, in his lectures, to 
laws and rules of art, with their varieties and exceptions. 
All these he applied at once to the writings of the 
ancients, alike in interpreting them correctly, and, if need 
were, in emending them. Thus the minuter grammatical 
criticisms were of the same tenor with the most 
important; for they did not pertain to the feuds and 
trifling disputes of grammarians, bitter and pertinacious, 
as we know them to have been, but they served to 
restore and illustrate the immortal remains of Homer, of 
Plato, — men of the loftiest genius, where we can hardly 
tolerate the slightest stain. This I perceived whenever 
he read Plato with me, for I was accustomed, occasionally, 
to submit to him the more difficult passages, which I 
could not comprehend. At evening, in particular, he 
gave himself to my disposal, in his library, sitting down, 
if not to Socratic cups, certainly to those instructions and 
discourses which were far pleasanter to me. Having 
read the passages which I desired, he examined each 
with the closest attention, that he might first ascertain the 
structure of the language, then the use and meaning of 
every word and phrase, not excepting even the smallest 
particles. The force of each term by itself being thus 
unfolded, I did not need a translation of the passage, 



SCHOOL OF PHILOLOGY IN HOLLAND. 257 

as a whole, for, under his guidance, I seemed to have 
comprehended it all spontaneously. The sentence being 
explained, I generally hastened on to another, which I 
also desired to understand. But he would not consent. 
' We must hasten slowly, my good friend,' he would say ; 
' we have not yet attended to the Attic dress, or to that 
Platonic form, or to the exquisite use of language, or to 
the rare elegance of the entire sentence.' Not seldom, 
one passage, or even a single word, detained us a whole 
hour. Still, I did not regret the delay then, or afterwards, 
for, in explaining single words, he unfolded and set off to 
advantage, the wonderful powers of the Greek language, 
the comely form of the Attic dialect, the polished and 
beautiful Attic itself, especially the native eloquence, 
which is seen, not in tropes, metaphors, or other rhetorical 
ornaments, but is expressed in the literal and skilful use of 
language, particularly as found in Plato, to whose diction 
and style all antiquity have assigned the highest rank. 
His usual advice was this. ' I would advise you to 
pass by the later philosophers, who have written about 
Plato and his doctrines. I would dispense with the 
Abridgements of his philosophy. These I would draw 
from Plato himself, because we ought to repair to the 
fountain itself, not to the little rills. That fountain, 
however, is mainly Plato's language itself, for it contains 
the exact image, as it were, of the spirit and philosophy of 
Plato.' 

" In regard to the rules of grammar and of other arts, I 
often heard him speak thus. ' Separated from those 
noble works of art from which they are drawn, they are 
dead. But when these works are appreciated, the rules 
are very useful in promoting a careful study of the works. 
I highly esteem, indeed, the works of the grammarians, 
nor do I despise the summaries of an art, nor the rules 
which are contained in both of them respectively; but 
22* 



258 CLASSICAL STUDIES. 

these may be very well learned from the perusal of 
ancient authors. The young scholar should unite 
attention to the grammar with the reading of the poets, 
historians, and orators, and with the study of the liberal 
arts themselves, a faithful acquaintance with which 

" Emollit mores nee sinit esse feros." 

On this path, which is, indeed, most pleasant, they may 
advance readily and firmly to an intimate acquaintance 
with grammar. In my opinion, no one ever became great 
in the grammatical art, who did not pitch his tent for life 
among the writings of the ancients.' " 

In 1798, Wyttenbach received an earnest invitation to 
take the chair at Ley den, which was just vacated by the 
death of Ruhnken. In complying with the invitation, 
he illustrated, says his biographer, the remark of Cicero, 
"that we do many things for the sake of our friends, 
which we should never do on our own account." He 
went to Leyden, to gratify the wishes which Ruhnken 
had repeatedly and earnestly expressed, and that he might 
be a solace to the surviving family in their melancholy 
circumstances. His situation in the university was, at 
first, embarrassing. His pre-eminent ability furnished a 
mark for the shafts of malice and envy. In his 
professional duties at Amsterdam, he had pursued an 
independent course, with a broad field open before him, 
which, of all others, he delighted to occupy. But at 
Leyden, the sphere of his labor was circumscribed, as 
the mutual rights and duties of a large body of teachers 
were to be adjusted. Added to these troubles, were the 
horrors which followed the French revolution, when 
Holland fell under the iron yoke of Bonaparte, who 
disposed of professors and universities as summarily as 
he did of popes and kingdoms. Three of the professors 
at Leyden were removed from office, and, subsequently, 



SCHOOL OF PHILOLOGY IN HOLLAND. 259 

the universities of Utrecht, Franeker, and Harderwyck, 
were disbanded. In 1807, a ship, which was anchored at 
Leyden, containing forty thousand pounds of gunpowder, 
exploded within a few hundred feet of the dwelling of 
Wyttenbach. Two of the professors were killed, and one 
hundred and forty-eight others. Wyttenbach came near 
losing his life. Many of his books and manuscripts were 
injured or lost. 

Notwithstanding these discouraging circumstances, he 
pursued his studies with great enthusiasm, outliving the 
envy which he first encountered, and finding in the genius 
and affectionate disposition of his pupils an abundant 
reward for his toils. His title was professor of eloquence 
and history, and of the Latin and Greek languages. He 
was, also, librarian. His salary was five thousand florins. 
The subject of his inaugural address was " The youth of 
David Ruhnken, as an example for the young scholars of 
Holland." 

Among the literary labors, which Wyttenbach performed, 
while at Leyden, were the preparation of his Annotations 
on Plutarch, the study of Athenaeus, Philo Judaeus and 
Plotinus, the publication of an edition of the Phaedo, and 
the conducting of an extensive literary correspondence. 
His lectures, till they were interrupted by the disorders 
of the revolution, were attended with deep interest by a 
large auditory. 

" Wyttenbach," says van Heusde, " seems to have been 
born for the study of antiquity, and by it to have been 
made, as it were, an ancient himself. He was so imbued 
with classical learning, from a child, that all which he 
said, all which he wrote, and all which he thought, had 
an ancient coloring about it, and seemed to have sprung 
from antiquity itself. He spoke Latin in his public 
lectures as one does his native language ; indeed, as few 
are able to use it. For his diction flowed pure, limpid, 



260 CLASSICAL STUDIES. 

harmonious, luminous, wholly free from the defilements 
of a later age ; it gushed out, as it were, spontaneously, 
so that he seemed not to have premeditated either what 
he should say, or how he should say it. And yet there 
was nothing to desire in respect to propriety and elegance 
of language, or the arrangement of the discourse.^ He 
never hesitated, though the subjects to be named or 
illustrated were unknown to the ancients, and, therefore, 
without Latin terminology ; nothing presented itself, that 
was not fitly named and clearly unfolded, so as to be, as 
it were, visible. In teaching, he had the rare gift of 
being able to make a subject perfectly plain, — a quality in 
his view of the highest value. I sometimes reflected at 
home upon points which he had explained in his lectures, 
and sought to recall the words and phrases which 
he had employed, in illustrating particular topics. But 
hardly any thing recurred to me, unless it were some 
barbarous epithet, by which I could designate an object, 
of which the ancients were ignorant. Indeed, he had 
not used any peculiar or favorite term, but by the whole 
complexion of a style and manner that were ancient, he 
unfolded the new subject just as the classical writers 
themselves would have done, if they had had a conception 
and wanted language to express it." 

" His diction," continues van Heusde, " was manifestly 
Attic, not drawn from any Latin author, but breathing the 
Socratic sweetness, mirth, and pleasantry, as they are 
seen in the Memorabilia. He wrote Greek, if not with 
the same facility, yet with the same elegance and purity, 
with which he did Latin, as I have seen in letters written 
in Greek, which he sometimes addressed to his friends, 
for the pleasure of it. He much regretted, that, at the 
revival of learning, the Greek language had not been 
adopted into the republic of letters, instead of the Latin. 
It is a difficult task for one to write in Latin so as to satisfy 



SCHOOL OF PHILOLOGY IN HOLLAND. 261 

himself or others. Not, indeed, that the Latin does not 
possess some rare qualities, — as grace, proportion, gravity. 
What can be more elegant than Cicero's epistles ? What 
more stately and magnificent than his orations ? Nothing 
like the epistles is found in Greek literature. But 
the language is wanting in the beauty of outward form, 
in inward force, copiousness, richness. There is no 
philosophy, as he said, in it, which all have found who 
have tried to philosophize in Latin, and which is 
demonstrated in the language itself, as it borrows even 
the term, philosophy, having no appropriate word of its 
own." 

During the last ten years of his life, Wyttenbach was 
afflicted by increasing illness, especially by the weakness, 
and, finally, the almost total loss of his eye-sight. His 
mental powers, however, did not appear to decay. By 
the aid of his friends, he continued to prosecute his 
favorite studies. 

In the spring of 1817, three years before his death, he 
was visited by Frederic Lindemann, rector of a gymnasium 
at Meissen, in Saxony, who passed several months in 
Leyden, for literary purposes. We quote one or two 
paragraphs from his lively description. " I first called on 
Wyttenbach. He lived, for the most part, at a villa near 
the city, not splendid, but very convenient, and named 
De Hooge Boom. But as he still had exercises at the 
university, he often came to his house in the city, for the 
convenience of those who wished to call upon him. On 
being admitted, I entered his chamber. He was sitting 
at the fire, with his wife, whom he had married a short 
time before, when he was seventy years of age. He was 
tall, of a full habit, though not large, a youthful bloom on 
his face, his brow indicating great sternness. But his 
eyes had become so weak, that he could read only with 
the greatest difficulty. In these circumstances, he used 



262 CLASSICAL STUDIES. 

the friendly aids of his wife, who assisted him as he rose 
from his seat. Accidentally, I had not received the 
letters of introduction to Wyttenbach, which Creuzer had 
promised. Consequently, as he was somewhat doubtful 
in respect to the truth of what I stated, I showed other 
letters of Creuzer, which contained notices of the design 
of my tour, respecting which I had consulted him. Still, 
he hesitated to promise me his aid in obtaining books 
from the library. Age had made him a little harsh and 
difficult to please, which, though it surprised me at first, 
yet soon I perceived to be the infirmity of advanced life. 
We conversed in Latin and German. He had, however, 
evidently lost the familiar use of German, though he 
appeared to listen to it with pleasure. He requested his 
wife to answer for him, if he failed to recollect the fit 
Latin terms. Meanwhile, he spoke Latin correctly, 
though slowly and cautiously. But he held out no hope 
of a free use of the library. I went away in sadness. 
But I had scarcely reached my lodgings, when one 
of his servants brought me a note, written in a female 
hand, directing the librarian to allow me access to the 
manuscripts in the library, but giving me no permission 
to take them home. 

"I subsequently heard Wyttenbach deliver lectures on 
the history of philosophy, which were the last exercises 
of his academic life. He then ceased to teach publicly. 
That golden star now verged to its setting, whose light 
had illumined the whole literary world, to the most 
remote regions. And yet how vivid, though chaste, was 
his diction ! How correct and simple was his Latin 
style ! How lucid and sedate his method of address ! 
He spoke slowly, yet there was no break in his discourse. 
His words flowed in a calm and gentle current, not falling 
" like the snows," as Homer expresses it, but gliding from 
his lips, as a deep and wide river wears away gently the 



SCHOOL OF PHILOLOGY IN HOLLAND. 263 

banks with its still waters, yet bears on, with irresistible 
force, whatever alights upon its bosom. I could have 
written down the whole discourse, — though he used no 
notes, — his utterance was of such a grave and even tenor. 
His audience were diligent with their pens. Some listened 
with the closest attention. None made any disturbance. 
Still, the number of auditors was not large." 

Though his eyes and his trembling hand permitted him 
to write no more, yet he retained the use of his intellectual 
powers, till the beginning of January, 1820, when he was 
attacked by apoplexy, which deprived him of the power 
of speech and motion. He lingered till the seventeenth 
of the month, tenderly watched by his wife, and the object 
of affectionate solicitude on the part of all his neighbors 
and friends. In accordance with a desire which he had 
expressed, his remains were interred at the entrance of 
the garden of his country villa, where he had passed the 
last years of his life, and near the place where the ashes 
of Descartes and Boerhaave repose. 

Of the learned societies of which Wyttenbach had been 
made a member, were the Latin Society of Jena, the 
Batavian Institute, the Royal Society of Sciences at 
Gottingen, and the French Academy of Inscriptions. 

But the true glory of Wyttenbach is seen in his works, 
and in those of his affectionate and accomplished scholars. 
It is not possible to give a just idea of the merits of 
Wyttenbach, without adverting to the literary career of 
his more distinguished pupils, reflecting in their writings 
the purity of his taste, the elegance of his Latin style, 
and the justness of his criticisms. Philologists, divines, 
lawyers, physicians, who came under his influence, reveal 
in their works, that sweet simplicity, that sobriety in 
regard to ornament, and that rhythmical cadence, which 
charm both the mind and the ear in the works of their 
master, and on which one reposes most delightfully, after 



264 CLASSICAL STUDIES. 

being wearied with the toilsome rhapsodies and barbarous 
dialect of those who fail to make themselves intelligible, 
by not taking pains with the language which they use. 

Among the pupils of Wyttenbach, who have written 
important treatises on Plato, were de Geer, Groen van 
Prinsterer, and Philip van Heusde. The last-named, 
who has lately deceased, wrote in the beautiful Latin 
style of the school of Euhnken. The elegance of his 
diction was owing, in part, as was the case with 
Wyttenbach's, to his familiarity with the best Greek 
writers. He moulded his Latin expressions in accordance 
with Greek models, and thus avoided that stiffness and 
stilted dignity which are apt to characterize those who 
read, while forming their style, the Eoman writers only. 
It may be doubted, whether van Heusde did not pursue 
his Platonic studies too exclusively. Never did a child 
treasure up the wishes of a departed parent more 
reverently, than he did the immortal remains of Plato. In 
his early life, he says, he was led astray by the school of 
Helvetius, and, subsequently, by the opposite philosophy 
of Kant. In neither did he find rest for his spirit. Both, 
it seemed to him, were alike distant from the true path. 
He then turned, under Wyttenbach's guidance, to the 
philosopher of the Academy. In the Soeratic school, he 
found the golden mean. 

The successor of Wyttenbach at Leyden, is John Bake. 
In his labors as editor, he has made much use of the 
Greek manuscripts in the public library. Lindemann 
heard him lecture on the Orestes of Euripides, and also 
deliver his inaugural address. He represents him to be 
a plain and unassuming man, yet affable and gentlemanly 
in his manners. His appearance in lecturing was calm 
and thoughtful. He used the most elegant Latin, with 
perfect readiness. He has devoted his principal attention 
to the works of Cicero, with reference to a new and 



SCHOOL OF PHILOLOGY IN HOLLAND. 265 

complete edition. Daniel van Lennep, of Amsterdam, 
and Peerlcamp, and Geel, of Leyden, are among the 
most eminent living philologists of Holland. Limburg 
Brouwer has published in French a History of the Moral 
and Religious Culture of the Greeks, during the Roman 
dominion over Greece, a work which is highly spoken of. 

The philologists of Holland possess facilities for study in 
the library of the university of Leyden, which are hardly 
surpassed in Paris itself. The collection is composed, 
in part, of the private libraries bequeathed by the two 
Scaligers, Perizonius, "Warner, and many others, and, in 
part, of purchases which have been effected in almost 
every country of the civilized world. It has a large 
portion of the manuscripts of Hemsterhuys, Ruhnken, 
Bondam, and others. Twenty-five years since, there 
were two thousand and nine hundred oriental manuscripts, 
to which many have since been added. 

It may be doubted, however, whether the study of 
classical philology has made much advance in Holland 
since the death of Wyttenbach. His pupils, if they 
share in his spirit, do not possess his comprehensive 
learning. No one of them has reached that imperial 
sway which he exercised over the realm of letters. 
They have been too much inclined to live on the capital 
which their predecessors earned. Wyttenbach was a 
most indefatigable opposer of the German philosophy, 
particularly of the school of Kant. This may have led 
the scholars of Holland to feel less interest in the 
results of German classical learning. The difference 
of languages has widened the separation; German has 
never been a favorite with the people of Holland. The 
merits of great German scholars, like Bockh, O. Miiller, 
Matthiae, Lobeck and Jacobs, appear to have attracted 
little attention in the Batavian provinces. Hermann's 
investigations in grammar and prosody have not become, 
23 



266 CLASSICAL STUDIES. 

as they have in his native land, common topics of 
discussion in schools and universities. 

Still, the claims of the Holland philologists rest on a 
firm foundation. They have accumulated treasures of 
most valuable materials. It is the land for patient labor 
and inflexible perseverance, for immense digests and 
thesauruses. But this is not all. The countrymen of 
Grotius have not been destitute of fine taste. The 
scholars of other nations have wronged them in this 
particular. The German sometimes understands the 
principles of aesthetics better than he practises them. 
Skill in the use of language, either German or Latin, 
does not always accompany, in his case, profound and 
varied erudition. But the scholars of Holland, from the 
days of Erasmus, have composed their works in beautiful 
Latin. Not a few have written it almost with the purity 
of the Augustan age. If the use of this language has 
made them less known and honored at home, it has 
greatly increased their usefulness and reputation abroad. 
But true taste in one branch of study will diffuse its 
influence over kindred pursuits. It will, also, confer 
important benefits, as it has done in Holland, upon the 
heart and life. 



VII. 



SUPERIORITY OF THE GREEK LANGUAGE 

IN THE 

USE OF ITS DIALECTS. 

A DISCOURSE, 
BY FREDERIC JACOBS. 



USE OF THE GREEK DIALECTS. 



We might, doubtless, celebrate this day in a manner 
wholly suitable to the occasion, by commemorating, in 
this sanctuary of science, the generous services rendered 
to letters and art during the past year, by the wise 
monarch, whose name the institution bears. While all 
classes in the kingdom have reason to bless the day, 
scholars are pre-eminently called upon to rejoice in the 
formation of a society, such as no other German city can 
boast, where the dignity of science is acknowledged, its 
freedom guaranteed, and all its efforts promoted ; where 
all the means it requires are supplied ; where the hearts 
of all its friends are gladdened by the sight of general 
prosperity, and each individual is released from those 
anxious cares, which might either withdraw him from 
science altogether, or bring down his thoughts from the 
lofty regions where they naturally move. But the interest 
and wishes of the monarch seemed to require somewhat 
more. He desires to see offerings laid, not upon his 
altars, but upon the altars of science and art. This day, 
therefore, seemed to ask a tribute of scholarship. I feel 
great pleasure in undertaking the duty of paying it; but 
I know, too, that no subject I can select will be likely to 
satisfy the high- wrought feelings of my hearers. Among 
23* 



270 CLASSICAL STUDIES. 

the various themes that have occupied my thoughts, 
none seems to me more harmonious with the spirit of 
the occasion, than one which carries back our imagination 
to an age and people, who enjoy no ambiguous existence 
on the page of history, like so many conquerors of the 
world, but, through art and science, bloom in eternal and 
unchanging youth, as the selected race of the Muses. 

It is indeed true, that ancient Greece has disappeared, 
as it were, from the borders which once encompassed her 
free and intellectual inhabitants. The life of the most 
excitable of all nations has died out. Their cities, once 
the centres of virtues unsurpassed, worthy dwelling- 
places of the gods, and rich gardens of every art, have 
sunk to dismal hamlets, in which a stinted and starveling 
race heedlessly build their huts upon the ruins of 
antiquity, without respecting, and generally without 
even remembering, the heroic age, to which the stones 
themselves still bear witness. The ancient rivers, some 
yet called by their former names, steal mournfully through 
a desolated land; the gods, that once dwelt on their banks 
and in their grottos, have vanished ; and the wondrous 
strains, which told the history of every fountain, hill, and 
woodland, to the listening ear of a free and susceptible 
people, have died away. So, too, their vigorous and 
manly, their delicate and graceful language, is heard no 
more, save in harsh discords ; the language, which once, 
almost in every form, enchanted the ear and heart, now 
drags itself through long and tedious works, with 
weakened tones, in loose constructions, deformed by 
foreign mixtures. But what the ancient land and its 
down-trodden inhabitants no longer supply, is still 
supplied in rich abundance by the reminiscences of her 
glorious past. The great deeds of Hellenic antiquity still 
bloom in all hearts ; the remains of Grecian art are still 
the delight of the world, and their acquisition the pride 



USE OF THE GREEK DIALECTS. 271 

of conquerors; the noblest minds still draw from the 
inexhaustible fountains of Grecian science ; kindred spirits 
are still warmed by the fire of Grecian intellect ; and as, 
whilome, the believing people sought instruction and 
consolation in the sanctuary of their oracles, so the nobler 
minded man, when the present fails to allay his longings, 
still goes for solace and content, to the quiet asylums of 
Grecian wisdom. Here, too, blooms the language still 
with the eternal charm of its youthful and manly beauty. 
And as the spirit of Hellenic antiquity reigns over the 
whole domain of modern art and science at large, so that 
higher perfection still breathes upon us from the language, 
and its enlivening breath, wherever it has been felt, has 
exalted the feelings, opened the blossoms of beauty, and 
ennobled the tones of speech. 

It is not my purpose, however, to blazon the general 
renown of the most intellectual and noble people, or to 
praise the excellence of their language, or to set forth 
the influence which the study of Grecian antiquity may, 
and ought to have, upon the modern world ; but I wish 
to touch upon only one peculiarity of their language, 
which has been often sighed over by youthful learners, 
and has not always been fully appreciated by the more 
advanced. I mean, the use of different dialects of the 
nation, in elaborate and classical literary works. This 
phenomenon stands alone in the history of the world. 
True, indeed, the nations of modern Europe have not 
utterly scorned the use of their dialects ; but this has been 
the fact only while the different races have maintained an 
independent existence, and no common bond of literary 
culture has encircled the whole people ; when almost all 
literary effort was limited to ' the entertainment and 
instruction of small popular bodies, and only individual 
men of genius, and not a whole class, distinguished by 
manners and culture, towered above the masses ; a class, 



272 CLASSICAL STUDIES. 

which was separated from the multitude, by a peculiarly 
moulded language, as well as by other things. For, the 
moment a centre of refinement has been established in 
a nation, — the moment men of scientific culture have 
formed a union there, — that very moment, the new 
intellectual tendency forms a new language, which, though 
sprung from a single dialect, soon overtops all the rest. 
This noble child of culture and intellectual excitement soon 
becomes the organ of all who possess real refinement, or 
who, like the fashionable world, natter themselves with 
its appearance; the language of the common people grows 
vulgar, and loses the right to make itself heard in the 
circles of learned and polished society. The dialects 
are left to the multitude alone; and, as they soon show 
themselves only in connection with low-bred coarseness 
and rustic awkwardness, and seem to sink lower and 
lower in usage the higher the cultivated language 
rises, they speedily come to be regarded only as a means 
of amusement, or, at best, fit to be the expression of 
mere simplicity of heart. Thus a universal language, 
belonging to no province, but to the entire nation, 
assumes the supremacy, and asserts an exclusive 
aristocratic sway over the realms of higher culture. 
Among many nations, the part has thus been swallowed 
up in the whole ; the works which belonged to single 
provinces have disappeared ; a few only have remained 
in the hands of the people ; some, in the progress of time, 
have been transformed into objects of learned research for 
grammarians and historians. 

Now, though the outset was the same in Greece, the 
progress of language was different. The constitution of 
the individual States in this country, each of which shaped 
itself in its peculiar way, did not, at an early period, give 
admission to a universal language ; and the glory of 
ancient Greece had already gone down beneath the 



USE OF THE GREEK DIALECTS. 273 

all-enslaving sceptre of Roman power, when the most 
cultivated of all the dialects was alone heard in the works 
of the Greeks. And yet even then" not wholly so. Even 
to the latest times, the Ionic dialect asserted its rights in 
epic poetry, and the Homeric language had long ceased 
to be heard from the lips of speaking men, when its 
echoes were still sounding in the legends of heroes and 
gods. But as the Epos had appropriated the Ionic, so 
had Lyric poetry taken the iEolic and Doric, and the 
Drama the improved Attic dialect, as their special 
organs. 

With regard to this phenomenon, two things are to be 
considered: first, the general question, how it came to 
pass, that in ancient Greece several dialects were refined 
up to the point of classical excellence ? but, secondly, 
the more important point, how their use, in certain 
branches of literature, was perpetuated beyond their 
boundaries, and past the time of their actual duration ? 

As to the first, it is to be explained from the peculiar 
constitution of the Hellenic nation. The races, out of 
which this nation was composed, though generally 
divided by language, customs and political sentiments, 
formed at times, for a short period, a bond of political 
union ; but they never blended into homogeneous States. 
Even among the individual races, almost every city stood 
alone, and they acknowledged themselves as branches 
of a common stock only in the general festivals and 
the solemn games. No lord and no subject were to be 
found there; every individual freely unfolded all his 
peculiar traits of character ; every part took form according 
to its pleasure or its power. Thus it happened, that every 
race, valuing itself upon the exalting consciousness of 
independence, jealously guarded its language, as well as 
other things peculiar to itself, and used it, as a natural 
right, not only in the common intercourse of life, but in 



274 CLASSICAL STUDIES. 

every form of communication. The supremacy changed 
hands more than once among the States of Greece. 
Whether Sparta or Athens, or, at a later period, Thebes 
stood at the head of the Grecian States, the influence of 
political ascendancy never trenched upon the rights of 
language. And as this remained without effect, so did, far 
stranger still, the ascendancy of culture. The fame of 
Ionian refinement filled the world ; the works of Ionian 
poetry and prose filled every heart of sensibility with 
delight ; still, the free spirit of the Attic language, though 
connected with the Ionic by the strongest kindred ties, 
remained unfettered. She entered daringly into the lists 
with the more ancient conqueror, and won a thousand 
wreaths of fame, nor withered the crowns of her sister. 
And when the glory of Athens already stood at its 
meridian height, when the language of Attica had already 
been cultivated in various works, to the admiration of 
the world, the Pythagoreans were still teaching their 
philosophy, in the Doric dialect, and Archytas, the noblest 
of them all, gave, in his writings, the highest perfection to 
the language of their fathers. 

But it would be an entire mistake, to suppose, that the 
independence of the Grecian States was alone sufficient 
to explain the problem now proposed, or that the exclusive 
spirit of national pride alone had refused admission to 
the more cultivated dialect. Herodotus, though of Dorian 
descent, composed his history in Ionic prose ; and, at an 
earlier period, Cumaean Hesiod had attuned his lyre 
to the music of Homer. In the same way, the Dorian 
Hippocrates wrote in the Ionic dialect. It would be 
useless to bring forward many examples; but that of 
the Dorians is of especial weight here, because the 
Dorian was the haughtiest of all the Grecian races, 
and consequently least inclined to adopt any thing from 
abroad. 



USE OF THE GREEK DIALECTS. 275 

But before we investigate the reason of these exceptions, 
we must revert once more to the former question, which 
is by no means satisfactorily solved, by noting the outward 
relations that existed between the different races. 

To arrive at this end, we must consider the interior 
life of the Greeks. There are two things here that must 
be weighed; first, the internal constitution, the leading 
element of which, in all the States, was freedom and 
equality. The citizens only formed the State ; all other 
inhabitants of the country were but tools, and, taken by 
themselves, were held in slight regard. But those, who 
formed the State, were peers. However some families 
might choose to claim a superiority in wealth, or an older 
and more renowned descent, yet they never formed among 
the genuine citizens a separate caste ; and even the 
Spartan kings held a higher rank only as generals and 
magistrates; in all other things, the least among the 
Spartans was their equal. Nearly all stood upon a level, 
and no class towered above the rest. All were educated 
nearly alike, and by the same means ; — by religion, 
which was common to all ; — by the example of ancestors, 
to which all looked, and by the mode of living. And 
as the halls and markets, the temples and groves of the 
gods, the laws and rights were common to all, the lowest 
as well as the highest, so, too, was one language common 
to all. It was only the deeper and more penetrating 
intellect, the greater fulness of thought, the more copious 
flow of language, the more careful choice of images and 
words, that distinguished the abler and more accomplished 
man from his inferior, but the external form of the language 
was the same in the discourse of the one as of the other. 
And, as in the republican cantons of Switzerland, at the 
present day, one language unites the lord and his vassal, 
and no man, in intercourse with the inhabitants of his 
province, deserts the language inherited from his fathers, 



276 CLASSICAL STUDIES. 

without losing the regard of his fellow-citizens, so a citizen 
in the free States of Greece would have been bereft of 
every claim to confidence and influence, by adopting a 
foreign, though it were a more cultivated dialect, as if it 
were a self-assumed privilege. Thus it happened, that, 
as the most intellectual and the noblest men honored the 
language of the country, and used it on all occasions 
whatever, every race, as soon as it raised itself to mental 
cultivation, was able to improve its hereditary language 
to a classical excellence. 

The second point that must now be considered, is the 
character of public communication in the Grecian States. 
When a class of writers sprung up in the modern world, 
the necessity of a common literary language was at once 
decided. The written word is addressed to the world, 
the spoken, to those immediately around us. The former, 
therefore, requires an organ of universal currency, the 
latter is contented with what is understood in its own 
neighborhood. But authorship is a late growth of 
Grecian civilization. Almost five centuries had gone, 
before the poems of Homer were imprisoned in written 
characters ; and even then, mindful of their original 
destination, they flowed more sweetly from the tongue to 
the ear. In a free political State, so long as the constitution 
exists in its purity, the communication of ideas is wont 
to adapt itself to the character of the people ; the man of 
the highest rank mingles with the mass of his fellow- 
citizens ; the individual element blends with the whole ; 
and so, while every one likes to consider his earthly goods 
only as a fief of the State, and all individual fortunes seem 
to make one common fund, he considers his intellectual 
acquisitions as a common property, the revenue of which 
should benefit his fellow-citizens first and foremost. Thus 
all communication was originally by word of mouth. 
And how could this have been otherwise effected than in 



TTSE OF THE GREEK DIALECTS. 277 

the dialect of the people, whose mind and feelings were 
to be moved ? How otherwise than in the tones in which 
they had received their earliest ideas, and with which 
they had been accustomed to utter their deepest feelings ? 
Thus the earliest poetry, and the earliest eloquence, were 
not national, but rather local and popular. It is not every 
author, however, who is willing to be popular in this 
sense. The more oral communication loses in value 
and dignity, — which, however, to the great blessing of 
civilization, did not happen until late in Greece ; — the 
more the popular sympathies of the highest personages 
melt away, and the individual severs himself from the 
mass, to the same extent that popular feeling decays, and 
the number increases, of those who fancy themselves too far 
above the rest of the world to talk with the people in their 
own way. Writing conquers speaking, and kills it dead. 
The lyre is silenced, and lives only as a figure of speech 
in written odes ; song dies in the musical sign, and the 
written precept soars proud and cold over the surrounding 
scene, away to a remote and wide-extended world, and 
often beyond the present, directly to coming generations. 

The next topic, that presents itself for discussion, is 
the phenomenon already touched upon, which seems to 
contradict the observations we have hitherto made ; I 
mean the fact, that many modes of communicating 
ideas, — epic poetry, for example, — depart from the general 
usage, and among all the tribes of Greece, were treated in 
one style, in the same dialect, consequently in a foreign 
one ; and, what comes to the same thing, that some 
writers, in their works, exchanged their own for a foreign 
dialect. 

The explanation commonly given, of this departure 

from general usage, namely, the overwhelming regard 

paid to some writers, which subjected others, as it 

were, to the yoke, and compelled them to speak after 

24 



278 CLASSICAL STUDIES. 

a foreign fashion, is easy and intelligible, but by no 
means satisfactory. For why should not the example of 
Herodotus have been as effective in history, as Homer's 
example was in epic poetry ? Or why should Pindar have 
preferred the Doric dialect to his native JEolic, in which 
his teacher, the illustrious Corinna, sang, and the greatest 
lyric poets before him had sung ? In other departments 
of the history of Greek literature, such an assumption of 
authority were wholly unexampled. If the unfettered 
spirit maintained its rights any where, it was here, where 
trodden paths were neither sought with drudgery, nor 
shunned with solicitude ; where men did not imitate their 
predecessors, except by inventing; where the standing 
form was what the nature of the art, and each of its 
kinds, demanded, and not what was a merely accidental 
ornament ; where, pre-eminently, the arts of literary 
composition, in their largest extent, chose the language 
with a certainty and care, which refused submission 
to the yoke of authority. Hardly any where has the 
principle, that the realm of art excludes whatever is 
accidental, been so thoroughly recognized as in Greece, 
where even that which accident supplied, as, perhaps, the 
chorus of the drama, soon became so completely fused 
with the other parts of the action, that it seemed to have 
grown up naturally with them, like an organic member of 
the whole. And was it only the accident, by which the 
singer of the Iliad happened to be born beneath the sky 
of Ionia, that moulded the Ionian dialect for ever to epic 
poetry, and a greater accident still, perhaps the whim of 
the moment, that moved the thoughtful Herodotus to 
prefer, in his inestimable work, the same language to the 
Doric, which was his mother tongue, or to the Attic, 
which was just then shooting forth its fairest scions ? 
We must, therefore, look about us for another and a more 
satisfactory explanation. 



USE OF THE GREEK DIALECTS. 279 

It is admitted by all, who have followed out its history 
with attention, that civilization in Greece was more 
thoroughly unfolded by a natural growth than elsewhere, 
and that its crowning blossom opened only when every 
other portion of the wondrous plant had been entirely 
matured. The mind of man, in Hellas, followed the 
most natural course in putting forth its powers, as it 
did in no other country, and among no other people. It 
awoke, like a laughing infant, under the soft heaven of 
Ionia. Here it enjoyed a life exempt from drudgery, among 
fair festivals and solemn assemblies, full of sensibility 
and frolic joy, innocent curiosity and childlike faith. 
Surrendered to the outer world, and inclined to all that 
was attractive by novelty, beauty, and greatness, it was 
here the people listened, with greatest eagerness, to the 
history of the men and heroes, whose deeds, adventures, 
and wanderings, filled a former age with their renown, 
and when they were echoed in song, moved to ecstasy 
the breasts of the hearers. It was thus that the poets 
first took up those heroic legends here as the most 
favorable materials for their art, and from the legend by 
degrees sprang the epic poem. The narrative was clear, 
imaginative, picturesque, varied, and minute, as the 
youthful feelings of the age and of the listening multitude 
required. That the deed should be mirrored in the song ;. 
that every form should stand forth, distinct and lively; that 
even in single parts, the whole should be shadowed out ; 
in a word, that the glorious world of heroes should move 
in perfect dignity and serene poetic splendor, — this was 
the aim of the epic poet, as of every one, in whose fresh 
and vigorous fancy a subject kindled into life is struggling 
for utterance. The Ionic dialect answered this purpose 
the most completely. As the hexameter is, and must be, 
the peculiar metre of epic poetry, so may the Ionic dialect 
also be regarded as its peculiar organ, not only because it 



280 CLASSICAL STUDIES. 

furnishes the greatest multitude of lively and picturesque 
expressions, hut the greatest variety of forms, in the most 
comprehensive sense of the term. As among all measures, 
the hexameter moves most freely within the limits of law, 
so the Ionic dialect, even in its ancient form, enjoys 
the greatest and most graceful freedom in its resolutions 
and contractions, as well as in the loose connection of 
sentences, the free movement of its numbers, and even in 
the carelessness, which it makes use of as a natural right. 
Its entire character is diffusive, unfolding its structure 
part by part, playful and episodical, as the genius of epic 
poetry itself, which, in its free movements, aims at nothing 
so much as at clear, minute, and natural representation. 
When this adaptation had once been seized upon, in its 
full perfection, by the lively perception of the Greeks, 
through the Homeric poems, they never could have 
conceived the thought of separating what had grown 
together, or of exchanging an organic part for another 
arbitrarily put on. But epic poetry, in a later time, and 
with a less picturesque language, could by no means be 
re-moulded, and what had bloomed in the infancy of the 
nation, if it lasted to mature age, could not but remain in 
its first and original simplicity. Hence, there neither 
was, nor could be, Attic or Dorian epic poetry, but it 
remained what it was, and must needs be, at its origin, 
Ionic in spirit, melody, language, and measure. 

Hence, we may also easily explain the use of the Ionic 
dialect in the Muses of the Dorian Herodotus. As the 
rhapsodies of Homer are the epos of poetry, so the 
wondrous and enchanting work of Herodotus is the epos of 
history. The wanderings of" the much enduring Ulysses 
embrace the whole extent of the then known or imagined 
world, and many great deeds of heroes, the various 
manners of men and of nations, countries and cities ; and 
so Herodotus works into the rich and lively picture that 



USE OF THE GREEK DIALECTS. 281 

he unrolls before us, the deeds of elder and later times, 
the migrations of tribes and their kings, wonderful and 
pleasant adventures, wise and significant discourses, 
remarkable manners and modes of life among the people, 
extraordinary appearances of nature, and products of the 
laborious skill of man. Here, too, all is picturesque, 
lively, and minute. But the Doric dialect was no suitable 
organ for this epic spirit, and it might well have seemed 
impossible to shape it over for this purpose at a time 
when its character was already firmly fixed. Thus he 
adopted what was ready to his hands, the Ionic dialect, 
consecrated to epic poetry, and therefore suitable for his 
historical epos. And never was made a happier choice. 
Who would read the Muses of Herodotus in another 
language ? Or who is so bereft of all perception of fitness, 
that he would have the Ionic of Herodotus, which pervades 
his whole work from beginning to end, translated into 
another dialect, the Attic, perhaps ? For here, too, we see 
what so nobly distinguishes Grecian art in general, that 
wonderful concord between the substance and the form, 
that harmony of inward and outward music, the first and 
most indispensable condition of beauty, which is often 
neglected, and frequently despised, nay, even discarded by 
the moderns, with an insensibility of feeling only fit for 
barbarians. For the barbarian shows himself precisely 
in this, that he neglects the form, and heeds only the 
substance ; that he severs the two, and neither observes 
nor appreciates their harmonious union. 

When the period of the childhood of Hellas had 
passed into her youth, and the first fresh curiosity for 
what was new and wonderful was silenced; when the 
youth awoke, as it were, to consciousness, and began to 
reflect upon himself, then the outward world was stripped 
of some of its splendor, by the strongly excited world of 
his inner nature, that lay nearer, and the epic Muse 
24* 



282 CLASSICAL STUDIES. 

retreated before the lyric. Other flowers, of deeper tint 
and stronger perfume, sprang up in the garden of poetry. 
In the richly melodious odes of a Sappho, of an Alcaeus, 
of an Erinna, the inmost spirit of profound feeling was 
expressed, the soul entered into the external form, and, 
borne on the waves of harmony, the inspired word poured 
into the hearts of the hearers, and laid open their inmost 
feelings, while it stirred them to the lowest depths. As 
lyric poetry raises man above himself, by turning his 
thoughts within, it needed a deeper, more compressed, 
and more soaring language, like the JEolic and Doric, 
which thus became the proper organ of lyric, as the Ionic 
had been the organ of epic poetry. The same character, 
of greater intensive power, which is declared by the 
fuller sounds, deeper tones, and harsher verbal forms of 
the Doric, recommended it, as it appears, in connection 
with its quaintness, — for it had least deviated from the 
original language of Greece, — to the Pythagorean school, 
although its founder was an Ionian, inasmuch as the lofty 
and enthusiastic style of this school corresponded to the 
lyric spirit, as the fanciful theories of the Ionian philosophy 
in physics were akin to the epic art. 

But still the virtues of these earlier times were but 
a partial excellence. The manly age came with the 
flower of the Attic times, and with it the circle of art was 
finished. Here, the single rays of excellence were drawn 
to a focus. The lively minuteness of the Ionian epic, and 
the deep fulness of the Dorian lyric poetry, met in the 
drama, in which the epic material freed itself from all 
that was incidental, and the narrow personality of lyric 
poetry, by being wedded to the dramatic material, acquired 
a broad and general character. As poetry put forth its 
crowning blossom here, so all the arts that embellish life, 
having sprung up in earlier times and other regions, were 
carried to perfection in Attica. Prose here entered the 



USE OF THE GREEK DIALECTS. 283 

lists with verse, and invented a peculiar dance of syllables, 
by which the free speech was first reduced to harmonious 
discourse, and propriety of language was transformed into 
eloquence. Here, for the first time, art became the centre 
of all the efforts of genius, and as the altar of Vesta united 
all the citizens of the same town, so the altar of art gathered 
together all the higher minds, in every species of 
intellectual action. Here philosophy founded a more 
venerable sanctuary, which united earth and heaven, 
where the graces of persuasion and of harmony, with the 
sister graces of poetry, the laughing satyrs, and the inspired 
Eros, danced around the flaming altar of wisdom. Thus, 
too, history grew up anew on this classic soil, moulded to 
a form of greater loftiness and dignity. The Attic history 
of Thucydides bears the same relation to the Ionic of 
Herodotus, that Attic tragedy bears to the Ionian Epos. 
Like tragedy, the Attic history renounces the free 
episodic movement ; she seeks not to supply a pastime for 
the moment, but deep lessons for all coming times ; she no 
longer desires to represent the world, but man, and the 
Providence that rules the world. If the Ionic history and 
Epopee resemble the smooth mirror of a broad and silent 
lake, from whose depth a serene sky, with its soft and 
sunny vault, and the varied nature along its smiling shores, 
are reflected in transfigured beauty, the Attic drama and 
history may be compared to a mighty stream, which 
noiselessly flows along within its steadfast banks, sweeps 
every obstacle in its strength away, no where turns aside 
from its onward course, salutes with equal dignity the 
flowery and the melancholy margin, and, after a long and 
majestic career, mingles with the ocean at last. As in 
the earlier periods, so, in this epoch also of the fullest 
bloom, art aims at a perfect harmony between the outward 
form and the inner substance. The Attic dialect united 



284 CLASSICAL STUDIES. 

in itself all the excellences of the others, without sharing 
their defects. Having no less life than the kindred Ionic, 
it shuns the loose constructions of the latter, and shares 
the fulness and strength of the Doric, without its 
hardness and roughness. With the culture of manhood 
and the freshness of youth, rich and harmonious, delicate 
and lithe, equally adapted to seriousness and mirth, it 
shapes itself to every form, and weds itself, with impartial 
love, to poetry and eloquence. As the Attic drama is the 
loftiest summit of ancient poetry, the Attic dialect is the 
flower of the Greek language, and alike fitted to describe 
external nature, and to give utterance to the deepest 
feelings of the soul. Thus it became of necessity the 
language of finished art, and could not but remain so while 
the perfection of art was understood and acknowledged. 
But lyric poetry, even in Attica, preserved the Doric form, 
so that, even in the lyric portion of the drama, a softened 
Dorian tone evermore prevailed. So, too, the epos, and 
the elegy, which shares with the epos the character of 
lingering detail, continued to be Ionic. 

Thus, therefore, it came to pass, that the various 
dialects of the Greek language, so far as their nature 
allowed, were cultivated to a classical excellence, and 
several along with each other, each in its own department, 
even beyond the time of their actual u.se in life. Neither 
of these results was the work of chance ; on the contrary, 
here as well as elsewhere were displayed the peculiar 
sense of the Greeks for the harmony of all the parts 
of an organic whole, and their scrupulous reluctance to 
disturb the old, when that had become consecrated by art. 
Far from them was the evil habit of setting the new above 
the ancient, and the newest above the new. Forms, that 
once stood forth in perfect excellence and beauty, were 
immovably fixed for all time ; and even the use of different 



USE OF THE GREEK DIALECTS. 285 

dialects, in their proper departments, helped to make the 
internal character of each particular species sacred and 
inviolable, as the outward form was kept unchanged. 

That deep and delicate perception, which is so 
wonderfully declared in the phenomenon here explained, 
as in all the departments of Grecian art, is one of the 
excellent qualities by which that nation, for ever to be 
admired, was distinguished before all other people. In 
them, if any where, is manifested the highest perfection 
of taste, which is itself in turn the last and purest flower 
of human genius. To gather this flower, to sow its seeds 
in our own minds, the garden of the Hellenic muses 
is opened before us. No other nation holds up a 
like example of perfection in such various forms, nor a 
like harmonious blending and combination of the most 
diversified elements in the same works ; even the German, 
which, in other conditions requisite for art, might vie 
among the foremost with the Greeks, here falls below 
them. It is deficient in the natural development, which 
fell to the portion of the Greeks ; and, instead of turning 
all its vigor to the care of the generous natural growth, 
it exhausts the greatest part of its strength in guarding 
against the foreign element, that is perpetually striving to 
gain a foothold. In spite, therefore, of resemblance in 
other particulars, nothing can form a stronger contrast, 
than the assured career of Grecian, and the wavering 
march of German art; while the former was only 
drawn towards the goal of perfection, the latter is each 
moment disturbed in its career by every accidental 
influence that approaches it. Hence, it has hitherto been 
impossible to unfold in Germany the inner sense of beauty 
and perfection with precision and certainty; hence, our 
neighbors, educated in a narrower sphere, but on surer 
principles, may be pardoned in this respect, for thinking 
that we have not yet quite outgrown the state of barbarism. 



286 CLASSICAL STUDIES. 

But if there has ever been a point of time, when the 
hope might be entertained, of seeing fulfilled the desire, 
so often disappointed, that a reign of science and art may- 
be securely founded in Germany, and thereby a livelier 
sense for the beautiful and the great excited, and firmly 
established, that time is the present. The powerful 
movement, which shakes to its centre the intellectual 
province of the sciences, throughout all its borders ; the 
mutual attraction of its various elements, once so divided ; 
the ever-growing ardor of the aspiration felt by the best 
minds after something higher ; the universal diffusion of 
a love for art ; — these, and other causes, lead us to look 
to the future for a more finished intellectual education. 
We may also add, that the various misfortunes which the 
people have suffered, have increased, instead of weakening, 
the elasticity of their character, and have inflamed their 
desire, by rallying them closer around the banner of their 
language, to gain those laurels in the intellectual world, 
which have been torn from them in the struggle for 
temporal possessions. 



VIII. 



HISTORY OF THE ORIGIN AND PROGRESS 



LATIN LANGUAGE. 



ABRIDGED FROM FERDINAND G. HAND. 



HISTOKY OF THE LATIN LANGUAGE. 



Persons, who have undertaken to write upon this 
subject, have generally entertained us with the history of 
Roman authors, rather than of the Latin language. It 
will be our object, to trace the internal changes of the 
language in regard to style of composition. But since 
there are some periods, of which no literary monuments 
have come down to us, the history of the language must, of 
necessity, always remain incomplete. Many expressions, 
which appear to us as singular, or peculiar to later writers, 
may have been in common use in some of those periods 
whose literature is lost. 

The language of the Romans grew out of common life ; 
but in the assemblies of the people, it acquired perspicuity 
and precision, as well as dignity and grace. Its form was 
moulded not less by the fortunes of the Roman people, 
than by its own original elements. It is not, like the 
Greek, the product of a single germ, which gradually 
unfolded by natural growth, but there are traces of 
foreign elements, varying so much in different periods, 
as to present striking contrasts. There were differences, 
too, in the condition of the people, which could not 
fail to leave their impress on the language. A free and 
high-minded nation, discussing grave questions in their 
25 



290 CLASSICAL STUDIES. 

public councils, must employ a language and. style widely 
different from those of an extravagant imperial court, with 
foreign manners. The figurative representations of the 
successive periods in the history of the language, — the 
golden, silver, brazen, iron ages, or the infancy, 
youth, manhood, old age of the language, are arbitrary 
distinctions, exhibiting no philosophical and exact views 
of the subject. 

The Latin, as a living language, is naturally divided 
into two periods, that which preceded, and that which 
followed, the subversion of the Republic. The distinction 
between these two periods was produced, not so much by 
mere political changes, as by the new intellectual character 
of the people. But for the purpose of nicer discrimination, 
we may divide the history of the language into six shorter 
periods. 

The first period extends from the earliest times to the 
age of Livius Andronicus, B. C. 240, or to the first Punic 
war, in which the language was formed from various 
dialects, and consolidated into the language of a whole 
people. At this late age, it is impossible to trace out 
accurately the way in which the original elements of the 
language were combined, but the elements themselves 
may be made out with a high degree of certainty. 
These are, the language of the aboriginal inhabitants, or 
the Latin in its most limited sense, which Avas cognate 
with the Oscan; the Oscan, which was diffused over the 
south of Italy, and received considerable culture, and 
continued to exist till the time of the emperors; the Sabine; 
the Etrurian or Tuscan, an independent language, which 
was spoken in the time of Aulus Gellius,but which cannot, 
as some would have us think, have been the principal 
ingredient of the Latin language ; the early Greek, or 
Pelasgic, which was so early blended with the Latin, 
enriching it, if not otherwise changing its character, that 



HISTOKY OF THE LATIN LANGUAGE. 291 

we are unable to point out its peculiar forms. The 
ancient writers themselves regarded the iEolic dialect 
as the original of the Latin ; according to this view, the 
Greek furnished the basis of the language. Whether 
we are, with Grotefend, to consider the Umbrians as those 
who spoke this dialect of Greek in Italy, or, with Miiller, 
the Siculi, cannot, in this remote age, be determined. 
The last element to be mentioned, is the Celtic, which 
must not be confounded with the German, which had no 
influence whatever in forming the Latin. 

We must not imagine, that there was, in this first 
period, a Latin language common to all the people of 
Italy. There were various popular dialects existing 
together, and reciprocally influencing each other, out of 
which the Latin finally, by superior culture, became 
predominant. There was not even a common language 
of books at first, though, at a later period, the Greek dialect 
of Italy prevailed and became the language of literature. 
After it began to be cultivated, the older unpolished forms 
of speech fell into disuse and oblivion. Of this whole 
period, however, nothing but fragments remain ; and 
these go to prove, that the language was rude in character 
and irregular in form. 

The second period, which is the interval between the 
first Punic and the first civil war, B. C. 88, presents to 
our view the Romans in a state of internal prosperity, 
enjoying a well-settled and free government, directing all 
their energies to practical life, and to affairs of State, and 
holding, after the termination of the disquietudes of war, 
a lively intellectual intercourse with other nations. Their 
connection w r ith the Greeks, after the second Punic war, 
in particular, aroused their mental activity, and contributed 
much to the improvement of the language. This was the 
commencement of literary effort among the Romans ; and 
their enthusiasm, when once awakened, urged them on to 



292 CLASSICAL STUDIES. 

imitate, and even emulate, the Greeks in every species of 
composition. Greek grammarians and rhetoricians were 
found in Eome at this time ; Greek models were held up 
to the Romans for imitation ; and soon, as in the case of 
the histories of Lucius Lucullus, Aulus Albinus, and 
Scipio Africanus, works designed for the educated classes 
were written in Greek. The earliest improvements in 
the language were made by the epic and the dramatic 
poets. But still greater advances were subsequently 
effected among the people at large, upon whom statesmen 
and orators exerted a strong influence in regard to prose 
composition, enstamping indelibly upon it the character of 
earnestness and practical intelligence. A distinction came 
to be made, at length, between the lingua vulgaris and the 
lingua Lati?ia. From the vulgar dialect of the populace 
in the city and the adjoining country, was distinguished 
the more correct, refined, and polished language of the 
educated, which was employed by the poets and the 
orators, and which, through their influence, finally became 
universal. Certain families of rank, as Cicero informs 
us respecting Scipio, cultivated this language more by 
elegant domestic usage, than by studying it as an art. 
The same author informs us, that the language of this 
period was not characterized by those peculiar forms 
which were afterwards designated as archaisms, but by 
that correct and elegant choice of words, and construction 
of sentences, which was observed in the conversation of 
refined society. 

The language of the Romans, in its improved 
form, did not originate in the rules of art; it was 
the natural product of a vigorous national character. 
Hence, Quintilian compares the writings of Ennius to 
an ancient sacred grove of primeval trees, with their 
stately trunks. After the second Punic war, Krates 
Mallotes first introduced the study of grammar. By the 



HISTORY OF THE LATIN LANGUAGE. 293 

influence of the Greek models, to which the language 
was conformed, it was, indeed, rendered flexible and 
various ; but it also became constrained by imitation in 
translations, as may be seen in the Odyssey of Livius 
Andronicus, and the versions of Naevius from iEschylus 
and Euripides. When no convenient word could be 
found in the Latin, the original word was transferred ; 
and in this way the language was enriched to such an 
extent by Naevius, that Ennius could borrow many 
expressions from him. Thus the latter employed the 
word, sophia, as having a different shade of meaning from 
the Latin word, sapientia. Great liberties were taken in 
the formation of compound words, particularly those with 
prepositions, as in the words, exlex, extorris. Cicero 
mentions Marcus Cornelius Cethegus, as the first to 
whom Ennius accorded eloquence of diction. Even 
Cato, notwithstanding his Eoman partialities, was finally 
compelled to admit the necessity of refining the Roman 
language, and, at last, himself resorted to the Greeks, as 
models of composition. Still, his style, though energetic 
and animated, remained stiff and unpolished. 

Ennius, who died in the year of the city 505, may 
be considered as forming a second epoch in this period. 
Notwithstanding the truth of Ovid's remark, that he was 
" great in genius, though rude in art," he had a decided 
influence in the formation of the language. His genius 
was fertile in the invention of new words, and he had the 
Greek and Oscan languages perfectly at his command; 
but he was less skilful in the construction of sentences. 
Still he preserved the genuine character of the Latin, 
softened its asperities, and transformed its loose and 
abrupt style into one more compact and flowing. 
Pacuvius is represented, by some writers, as excelling 
Ennius, in accuracy of expression and skill in composition. 
In Plautus, we find a complete mastery of a pure and 
25* 



294 CLASSICAL STUDIES. 

graceful Latinity; though it is in Terence, that a direct 
aim at elegance of language first hecomes observable. 
This last poet, in his delineation of polished manners, 
selected with care the most expressive words, and such 
as were authorized by the best usage. His fine taste 
preserved him from falling into a mannerism, and while 
he borrowed from the Greek, he studiously maintained 
what was characteristic in the Latin. 

The aim of the writers of this period to perfect the 
Latin by means of the Greek, was not, of itself, a fault, so 
long as the independence of the former was maintained ; 
and had this method been prosecuted farther, both vigor 
and flexibility might have become the characteristics of 
the Eoman language. But soon these bounds of propriety 
were overstepped, and an affectation of Greek became 
general. The flood of effeminacy and daintiness became 
so great, as nearly to overpower, for a time, the efforts of 
the few who strove to maintain the original and natural 
energy of the language. The orators who addressed the 
assemblies of the people, were longest preserved from this 
false taste, and it was chiefly through their influence, that 
a strong barrier was raised, which stayed the progress of 
degeneracy and corruption. They adopted a language of 
simple earnestness and dignity, which was in keeping with 
the old Roman character. Seriousness and composure 
are the most obvious qualities which mark the style of 
this period. 

During the third period, from the time of Sylla to that 
of Augustus, B. C. 29, the language of intercourse and 
of books, called by way of distinction, the Eoman, was 
formed. The progress of its formation was rapid, and 
under the care of the erudite men who cultivated it, the 
Roman style quickly shot forth into full bloom. It grew 
up under the two-fold influence of the usage prevailing in 
families of rank and refinement, and of the scientific labors 



HISTORY OF THE LATIN LANGUAGE. 295 

of men of learning. Rome was the political centre, from 
which went forth the power that governed the conquered 
provinces, and the city with its environs formed a contrast 
to the rest of Italy. This Roman language, in distinction 
from the Latin, was " the refined language of the city, 
containing nothing which could offend, nothing which could 
displease, nothing which could be reprehended, nothing 
of foreign sound or odor." Thus Pollio represented the 
language of the city and the language of the country as 
clearly distinguishable from each other. The number of 
Latin dialects was as great as the present number of Italian 
dialects. Wherever in the municipal towns of upper 
Italy and in the provinces there was a literary activity, it 
was always with a view to Rome as the seat of culture 
and of good usage. Lucilius censured the language of 
Vectius for its betraying the dialect of Praeneste. Cicero, 
while he admitted that the Latin towns had literary men, 
insisted that the most cultivated among them were far 
removed from Roman refinement, and that there was, in 
the language of the best provincial orators, a want of the 
Roman coloring. They had to acquire by study what 
was naturally learned by practice in the capital. But we 
must not suppose, that it was in the power of a few writers 
in Rome to give law to language : nothing short of the 
current usage of refined society was recognized as having 
that power. 

" To speak Latin," did not now, as in the former period, 
mean to speak according to the established laws of the 
language, but to speak the Roman dialect in its purity, 
without the corruptions of the rustic language, or the help 
of the Greek. Hence Quintilian's rule, "Let every word, 
and every sound, if possible, indicate an origin in this 
city, that your language may appear to be perfectly 
Roman, and not that of adopted citizenship." A principal 
source of culture, but, at the same time, of an artificial 



296 CLASSICAL STUDIES. 

style, was the Grecian influence in the schools and in 
general literature. In the schools of eloquence, the first 
exercises were in the Greek language ; the study of the 
Greek models preceded the study of the Latin ; and the 
Greek was regarded as the language of fashionable life. 

The changes wrought in the language, during this period, 
were not inconsiderable. Anomalies were reduced to rule ; 
foreign materials were brought in and assimilated; and 
every thing was conformed to the reigning taste. There 
was now a broad distinction between the old Latin and 
the new, and the former was rejected by the abettors of the 
new taste. Not only did style become a particular object 
of attention, but the study of oratory was so connected 
with efforts to bring out all the powers of the language, 
that prose composition was carried to a higher state of 
perfection than the poetical. A servile imitation of the 
Alexandrian taste weakened and impoverished the poetry 
of this period. Three causes conspired to produce the 
improvement just named ; advancing knowledge made the 
poverty of the Latin language more and more perceptible, 
and stimulated to efforts to enrich it ; the universal demand 
for strict accuracy in language led to great advances in 
the grammatical science ; and, finally, the growing taste 
for elegance required more attention to style, in general. 
The language was made a subject of special investigation 
by such men as Varro and Csesar. 

While laboring to increase the affluence of the language, 
those, who were masters of Greek literature, introduced 
so many new words from that language, as to excite the 
opposition of the lovers of the national literature, whence 
a warm controversy arose between the corrupters of the 
language, as the former were styled, and the purists. But 
in this, as in all similar controversies, which usage, in 
spite of literary legislation, will retain what is already 
in general currency, went on in a middle course, neither 



HISTORY OF THE LATIN LANGUAGE. 297 

receiving all nor rejecting all that is of foreign extraction. 
Thus Cicero, when speaking of the word, aer, said, "It is 
Greek, indeed, but it is in general use, and passes for 
Latin." In the formation of new words, such, for 
example, as were proposed by Sisenna, some few were 
finally adopted, while others were rejected with scorn. 
Latin compounds, also, on account of their stiffness, 
which rendered them so different in this respect from 
those of the Greek language, were not favored by the 
Romans. Through the entire course of these changes, the 
spoken language took the lead, and written composition 
followed in the train. 

Thus a usage was, at length, established, which could 
pass the ordeal of criticism. The principles of the 
language, settled in this manner, were universally 
recognized. Accuracy of expression, according to usage, 
favored accuracy of thought ; and this, in turn, contributed 
to perspicuity and precision in language. Aulus Gellius 
represents Caesar as saying, " Shun a new and unusual 
term, as you would a reef;" and Cicero even makes him 
say, "A happy choice of words is the source of eloquence." 

Connected with accuracy of expression, was an increased 
attention to elegance of style ; this, too, resulted from the 
prevalence of a Grecian taste. The language of popular 
eloquence became more and more rhetorical, while the 
study of philosophy, now coming into vogue, made it 
necessary to have a philosophical language, in the 
formation of which Cicero rendered a valuable service. 
He rightly insisted on a characteristic difference of style in 
oratory and philosophy ; and thus the language gradually 
acquired a high degree of delicacy and flexibility. 
Harsh and inharmonious sounds were avoided, and in the 
construction of sentences, a certain rhythm was observed. 
The language had thus reached a high state of perfection; 
and now that foreign influences were, to a great extent, 



29S CLASSICAL STUDIES. 

withdrawn, a pure taste could find scope for its exercise 
in the native literature, without resorting to the Greek 
masters. 

The names of Varro, Caesar, and Cicero, may be 
mentioned as among those who contributed most to the 
improvement of the language. The name of Hortensius 
is also mentioned by modern writers, but we possess no 
means of ascertaining what his influence on the language 
was. The style of Varro, who was a good collector, and 
a good critic, though often vigorous, was nevertheless 
deficient in smoothness and equality. Julius Csssar, 
according to Cicero's testimony, not only investigated the 
principles of the language, but was himself a master of 
style, skilfully combining beauty and grace with the 
the greatest simplicity. Cicero's merits in perfecting 
the language have always been acknowledged. He 
employed the Roman language, as above described, in 
all its richness, and even rendered it still more copious, 
partly by reviving what the old poets had introduced, and 
partly by the formation of new words after the analogy 
of the Greek. He was the framer of a philosophical 
and scientific language for the Romans. He increased, 
among his countrymen, the stock of abstract ideas, by 
introducing into the Latin language the speculations of 
the Greeks, and then, with a nice regard to logical 
accuracy, he formed for himself and others a corresponding 
nomenclature. His influence is particularly observable in 
the multiplication of abstract nouns, especially such as the 
words, incitatio, and moderatio. 

While he enlarged the boundaries of the language, he 
was a steady supporter of its independence, and decidedly 
opposed to unnecessary innovations. However great the 
number of ideas and words borrowed from the Greeks, 
the construction of his sentences is always Latin. Very 
few Grecian idioms can be found in all his writings. He 



HISTORY OF THE LATIN LANGUAGE. 299 

was also very accurate in his grammatical and rhetorical 
principles, and is almost entirely free from faults of 
negligence. His leading principle in composition was 
clearness of conception, and great selectness in the choice 
of words. The principles of grammar, — I do not mean 
the grammar of our schools, but that of the Eoman 
usage, — can be learned from no Latin writer so well as 
from Cicero. His language is, as might be expected, 
singularly perspicuous and definite ; confused, imperfect, 
indefinite, and pompous expressions, which so abound in 
the later Latin, are never detected in him. After his 
residence in Khodes, where he enjoyed the instructions 
of Molon, he carefully avoided every thing that was 
far-fetched and declamatory. But his solicitude and 
effort for perspicuity frequently carried him away into 
amplifications, and a diffuseness, which robbed his 
language of pregnancy and power. Hence, Asinius 
Pollio, and others, could justly complain of this habit, and 
represent it as an Asiatic verbosity. In the proper use of 
figurative language, in which the later Latin writers were 
so deficient, Cicero is a perfect model. His elevated and 
delicate taste, and strict sense of propriety, secured him 
against the most distant approach to grossness and 
vulgarity, while his rhetorical skill enabled him to give 
every word its most advantageous position. In this latter 
respect, he did much towards settling the laws of the 
language in respect to collocation of words. Nor is he 
to be regarded, in a less degree, as the inventor of a 
rhythmical cadence in the structure of sentences, in 
which he is without a rival. His sentences are skilfully 
moulded; their parts are so distributed and adjusted, as to 
combine unity and variety. But he was more practised, 
and consequently more successful, in the oratorical, 
than in the philosophical style, in the latter of which, 



300 CLASSICAL STUDIES. 

notwithstanding all his care, he is sometimes too much 
the orator. 

There were two classes of writers opposed to Cicero ; 
the one, in their artless simplicity, falling into carelessness 
and looseness of expression ; the other, affecting the Attic 
salt, and becoming epigrammatic, while accusing him of 
diffuseness of style and emptiness of thought. Calvus, 
one of the latter class, by an excess of art, became affected, 
quaint, and stiff; and Pollio, by his overstrained efforts to 
be energetic, made himself obscure, and, while aiming to 
be rhythmical, became poetical. Sallust, although living 
in this period, belongs, by the character of his style, to a 
later age. In thought, he abounded in subtleties ; in 
language, he employed antiquated forms, combined 
heterogeneous words, and sought effect in antitheses. 
He is widely distinguished from Cicero by his Greek 
constructions, the want of rhythm in his sentences, and 
by the poetical coloring of his language. 

The fourth period in the history of the Latin language 
extends through the reign of Augustus to the time of 
Claudius, or to A. D. 54. The language of this age has 
been characterized as the lingua elegans. A change 
in the taste of elegant society at Eome, and in the spirit 
of the age generally, caused new modifications in the 
language. The struggle for liberty had died away, and 
a narrow spirit of selfishness and a love of display had 
succeeded. The public calamities, which had plunged so 
many families into wretchedness, had broken their spirit, 
and men were glad, after such a protracted suffering and 
disquiet, to return to the comforts of life, under almost 
any conditions. The administration of public affairs 
being now limited to the emperor and his ministry, 
men of refinement led a life of leisure, and yielded 
themselves a prey to the luxury generated by a 



HISTORY OF THE LATIN LANGUAGE. 301 

splendid and extravagant court. Sensual delights took 
the precedence, and the public taste could endure nothing 
which did not amuse and charm. Musings and revery 
took the place of intellectual culture ; the thinking faculty, 
if exercised at all, did nothing but brood over the feelings. 
Thus a voluptuous sentimentality came to be the basis of 
the Roman character, which, in this respect, presented a 
striking contrast to that of ancient times. By an easy 
transition, the imagination passed from grave and solemn 
realities to the wildest fancies, in which there was not 
even a lingering recollection of the earlier days of 
prosperity under the old republic. Eloquence, which 
had begun to be neglected as early as Cicero's last days, 
now found support only in private life. Its flourishing 
period had disappeared, and even those older productions, 
which had formerly been held up as models of oratory, 
were now unsatisfactory, and appeared insipid. In the 
universal passion for dainty phraseology, excellence in 
prose composition could not be expected. Louder than 
ever was the complaint of the poverty of the language, 
now rendered the more palpable by the influx of foreign 
ideas, mostly Grecian. Lucretius says, " The poverty of 
our language makes it impossible to explain the human 
constitution ;" and Seneca remarks, in a similar strain, 
" How great the indigence, or rather the abject poverty 
of our language, is, I have never felt more sensibly than 
now. When we speak of the doctrines of Plato, a 
thousand ideas present themselves for which we have 
no name, and of those for which we have corresponding 
words, many are lost to us on account of the fastidiousness 
of our taste." To supply this deficiency of terms, very 
little was done ; but considerable labor was bestowed upon 
polishing and adorning those words which already existed. 
Of ancient words, many were preserved by the poets, but 
26 



302 CLASSICAL STUDIES. 

many were entirely lost. Some, as the word cicur, never 
occur after the time of Cicero. 

Though genius was thus cramped, and the vigor of 
thought weakened, there still remained a solicitude for 
accuracy and for elegance, which preserved the language 
from any perceptible decay, and, in some respects, even 
contributed, though by partial views, to its improvement. 
Elegance and grace of diction were particularly cultivated. 
But the old works of the language were pretty much 
forgotten, and the attempts of the lovers of antiquity to 
revive them were ridiculed. This we learn from Horace, 
who professed to hold the golden mean, but who, while 
he despised the insects of the day, still wanted the 
firmness to adhere to what was excellent in the old 
authors, and to build upon their foundation. The more 
sensible scholars and acute grammarians undertook the 
defence of the older productions, and it was easy for them 
to show, that the new, fashionable mode of polishing and 
coloring in style, would produce an artificial manner, 
ruinous to poetry itself. But the reigning taste was 
against them, — a taste, which refused to recognize the 
substantial excellence of the old authors, under their plain 
dress, and the rust of age that was upon them. This 
new style, was termed elega?is, or nitida. Seneca calls it 
Jianc recentem polituram. Great labor was now bestowed 
upon exquisiteness and purity of language, and the 
more distinguished poets and amateurs submitted their 
productions to the verbal criticism of public and social 
circles, composed of competent judges. It was in view of 
such care and pains, that Horace said, operosa carmina 
Jingo. What was formerly mere rusticity, was now 
called barbarism. The cultivation of the language was 
chiefly in the hands of the poets, and it is to them that we 
are to look for proper specimens of the language of this 



HISTORY OF THE LATIN LANGUAGE. 303 

period. Certain words, which were once current, were 
rejected by them, as inelegant ; etsi, for example, is never 
used by Horace or Virgil. 

The prevailing taste for elegance degenerated, in not 
a few writers, into what was artificial and far-fetched. 
" Some writers," says Seneca, " are so fond of what is 
striking, that they carefully break up easy sentences, 
which were naturally formed, so that the reader may fall 
upon something unexpected." Others, to appear original, 
affected a quaint style, and, by a studied omission of 
conjunctions, and by loose constructions, were betrayed 
into an unnatural obscurity. Even Augustus expressed 
his aversion to this " odor of recondite words." The 
faulty style of Sallust was absurdly imitated by L. 
Arruntius, who used such phrases as exercitum argento 
fecit, and totus hiemavit annus. 

In Livy, we find the first traces of a new age, not, 
indeed, introduced by him, but first made known to us- 
through his writings. Formed not so much under the 
teachers of rhetoric, as by an unusual familiarity with the 
classic productions of a former age, he fixed upon natural- 
representation as the fundamental law of composition. 
His language, which was enriched by reviving from the 
older writers much that had gone out of use, and by 
introducing much, also, from what was current in 
social life, was constructed with particular reference to> 
picturesque description ; and while he gave himself free 
scope in regard to the formation of his sentences, he 
aimed more at a complete and natural expression of 
character, than at external regularity and exactness. He 
is, therefore, pre-eminently, a delineator of the heart, and 
is the first Latin author who particularly excels in drawing 
character. Not that he altogether overlooked accuracy, 
but he made it subordinate to pictorial effect. His 
constructions are sometimes hard and imperfect, and it 



304 CLASSICAL STUDIES. 

cannot be denied, that he sometimes seeks for what is 
unusual. From his time, we meet with new words, 
new modes of connection, a less delicate regard to the 
collocation of words, accidental forms of construction, 
Greek imitations, and a revival of old words. 

During this period, the boundaries, within which 
eloquence had been confined, were enlarged, so as to 
include every species of prose composition, not less than 
oratory. The useful arts were now the subject of written 
compositions, in which the technical terms, employed 
in common life, were adopted. Vitruvius wrote on 
architecture, in the common language, adapted to the 
comprehension of the ordinary mechanic. Columella, 
Pomponius Mela, and Celsus, wrote with skill, and not 
without elegance, on scientific and practical subjects. 

Cicero had long before predicted the downfall of 
eloquence ; and Seneca referred to the effeminacy and 
luxury of the times, as the cause of the corruption of the 
language, and from this drew the general inference, 
" wherever you perceive that a corrupt taste pleases, be 
sure that the morals of the people have degenerated." 

The fifth period embraces the interval from the reign 
of Claudius to the death of Trajan, in A. D. 117. The 
language of this period, which has been termed lingua 
tumida, was an exact image of the times. It was no 
longer an instrument of popular eloquence, but was 
confined to literature and to books. On the one hand, 
the prevailing love of pleasure gave the imagination an 
unbridled licentiousness, and the language was overloaded 
with gorgeous images and tropes ; and, on the other, 
learning and philosophic observation imparted to strong 
minds a greater affluence of thought, which they wrought 
into labored forms of artificial beauty, or condensed into 
energetic and pointed language. Few had any simplicity 
or naturalness of style. The oratorical style degenerated 



HISTORY OF THE LATIN LANGUAGE. 305 

into empty declamation. Hence Tacitus and Quintilian 
came forth with their inquiries into the causes of the 
decline of eloquence, and ascribed it to a Avant of general 
culture, though Seneca, as we have seen, imputed it to 
moral causes. Eoman Latinity, as distinguished from 
provincial, no longer existed; and the language passed 
from the safe-keeping of a few privileged families into 
the hands of the learned in all parts of the empire. The 
inventive powers of learned men took an entirely new 
direction. Hence, Quintilian observed, " We have totally 
changed the character of our language, and indulge 
ourselves unduly in innovations. We are not so much 
inferior to our ancestors in talent as in steadiness of 
purpose." Hence, too, Aulus Gellius could say, "Most 
Latin words have lost their native significations, and 
received others, adopted from habit or from ignorance." 
But it should be remembered, that the improvements 
made in the language in the preceding period, were 
artificial, being adapted only to the learned and refined, 
instead of growing naturally out of the character and 
habits of the people. The old tree put forth new shoots. 
The people, however, were no longer the old Romans, 
but an entirely new race. There was no longer at Rome 
a circle of accomplished men, giving law to language, but 
in all parts of the immense empire, a motley mixture of 
men of various kinds and degrees of culture, flocked 
together in the large towns. Simplicity of character and 
of style disappeared. The intellectual resistance, made to 
the corrupting tendencies of the times, was too feeble to 
be successful; and thus the good and the bad were 
indiscriminately thrown together in one mass. 

The insufficiency of the language to express the 

increasing stock of abstract ideas, was unhesitatingly 

obviated by the formation of new words. So, for 

example, the idea of possibility, required the word, 

26* 



306 CLASSICAL STUDIES. 

possibile, for which the earlier writers were obliged to 
use the circumlocution, quod fieri potest; — "a harsh 
term," as Quintilian observes, " but the only one for the 
idea." Thus originated such words as corporalis, such 
substantives as detractor, abolitio, prodigentia, advectus, 
placamentum. The language inclined more to abstracts, 
for which adjectives, even in the singular number, were 
used, as in the case of desertum, and obscurum noctis, 
with Tacitus. New phrases and constructions, contrary 
to established usage, if not to analogy, were introduced. 
The signification of single words was either limited, as 
in agritudo, used of the body only; or the signification 
was extended, as in rigor, applied to the mind. In 
grammatical usage, genitives, infinitives, and participles, 
were much more frequent than formerly. 

In regard to the fine writing of this period, two things 
are to be remarked; — first, that in consequence of a 
diminished regard for correctness in idiom and manner, 
the old standard authors were no longer carefully studied 
for the formation of a good style, but were hastily read 
for purposes of compilation. In the second place, the 
greatest pains were taken to multiply ornaments, so that 
nature and simplicity were almost wholly sacrificed. 
The studied sententiousness of ambitious writers led to 
obscurity, to quaint antitheses, to a play upon words, and 
to a mixture of the prose and poetic styles. This decline 
of taste is clearly perceptible in Velleius Paterculus. 
Even such an independent writer as Tacitus, is not 
wholly free from these faults. He was also fond of 
blending incongruities in his diction, and often brought 
uncongenial words together, for the sake of rendering his 
style pointed and energetic. Composition assumed the 
form of apothegms ; sentences were detached and abrupt. 
The language became adapted to writing compounds, 
and lost its free, and sonorous, and swelling periods 



HISTORY OF THE LATIN LANGUAGE. 307 

Quintilian describes the language of his time as " vitiated 
and corrupt; licentious in the use of words; wantonly 
indulging in sententious puerilities ; immoderately inflated ; 
pompous, without meaning; brilliant with flowers just 
ready to fall ; substituting boldness for sublimity, and the 
madness of disorder for freedom." 

The sixth and last period begins with the reign of 
Hadrian, and terminates with the extinction of the 
language in the fifth century. The interval between 
Hadrian and the Antonines, is the transition-period, or 
the preparation for a total downfall. After the reign of 
Trajan, the proper development of the language ceased ; 
all the subsequent changes, instead of being organic in 
their nature, were arbitrarily assumed. In the fourth 
century, the process of corruption was even more rapid. 
Still, such works as those of Ammianus Marcellinus, 
Apollinaris Sidonius,Boethius Fronto,Lactantius, Solinus, 
and Symmachus, prove the incorrectness of the common 
representation, that there was at this time a total 
corruption. The truth is, that the pure Latin, in this 
century, was a dead language, formed exclusively by 
the reading of the old authors, and possessed only by a 
few learned men, who wrote the better for being retired 
from common and public life. In the fifth century, 
the greater part of the language was either foreign or 
provincial. 

To the foregoing sketch of the history of the language, 
it will be in place to add a word respecting its character. 
Every nation leaves its own image stamped on its 
language, and consequently the latter can possess only 
such powers and such refinement as the character of the 
people would naturally originate. Every language has, 
however, two kinds of principles, the one resulting from 
the universal laws of thought, and common to all nations, 
the other from those modes of thought and conception 



308 CLASSICAL STUDIES. 

which are peculiar to one people. To the former belong 
the essential forms of speech ; and though the Latin has 
no article nor optative, yet we know it has a way of 
making up these deficiencies, and must have, in order to 
satisfy the laws of the human mind. The second kind 
of principles is as much the result of peculiar modes of 
feeling as of thought. Connected with the latter are some 
peculiarities, which seem to be accidental, — for which, at 
least, we are unable to give a satisfactory account. 

One of the most obvious peculiarities of the Latin 
language is its deficiency in abstract terms, and its 
prevailing use of concrete forms. Even abstract subjects 
were viewed under concrete images ; and many words, 
which are correctly translated into the modern languages 
by abstracts, suggested to the Romans a more living 
conception. But it does not hence follow, that the Latin 
failed in precision. On the contrary, it seized upon the 
exact form of the perception, and gave it out as it was. 
Instead of stripping it of all individuality, and giving it a 
vague generic representation, it painted the specific form 
like an image on the retina of the eye. It had no words, 
for example, to express the first terms of the following 
phrases, " the feeling of joy, " the objects of nature," but 
it had an abundance of words to express the various kinds 
of joy and the individual objects of nature. 

This deficiency is apparent in the small number of 
nouns compared with the number of verbs in the language. 
Substantives themselves are, in some sense, abstractions, 
whereas verbs are to a greater extent the living images of 
reality. The later Roman writers perceived this peculiarity 
of their language. Seneca, in replying to a friend, says 
in one of his letters ; " Of what use is that facility of which 
you speak, so long as there is no way in which I can 
express this word (essence) in Latin, on account of which 
I have complained of the poverty of the language ? Still 



HISTORY OF THE LATIN LANGUAGE. 309 

more clearly would you perceive our difficulties, if you 
were aware, that there was one single term for which I 
can find no equivalent. What is it ? you will ask. It is 
id ov. I may seem to you to be too fastidious, and you 
may insist that it can be rendered by quod est. But the 
difference is very great, since I am obliged to introduce a 
verb, which would encumber, if not utterly prevent the 
use of the word in many constructions." At a later 
period, new substantives were introduced to supply such 
deficiencies ; but the difficulty of forming compounds in 
Latin, always sets limits to the number of abstract nouns. 
Hence Livy remarked ; " The common people, by resorting 
to the Greek, which more easily admits of compounds, 
call these persons androgyni." Seneca says, "This 
practice more becomes the Greek language than ours, for 
while we admire such words as y.vqxaixeva,incurvicervicum 
would be laughed at." Still, such awkward compounds 
did subsequently find their way into the Latin. 

The Eomans resorted to various expedients for supplying 
the place of abstract nouns. They used doctus vir, for 
scholar ; honore judicioque, for honorable decision; nullum 
esse, for nonentity ; eos quibus praesis, for your subjects ; 
laboranti, for in one's trouble. Many words are so 
dependent on others, that they cannot stand alone. Thus 
auctor cannot be used by itself, for a writer, nor finis for 
the end of a thing, as of a book. Though the Latin was 
deficient in the expression of metaphysical subtleties, it 
was a good instrument for logical reasoning. 

Again, the Latin language is better adapted to the 
representation of real objects than to the utterance of 
impressions and feelings. The Romans directed their 
attention more particularly to affairs of active life, in 
which the perceptive faculties were more exercised than 
the speculative. Hence they were mainly anxious, in their 
language, to give true pictures of whatever presented itself 



310 



CLASSICAL STUDIES. 



as an object of perception. They were more concerned 
about the substance than the form in their representations, 
and, therefore, did not, by peculiar forms and constructions, 
modify their words by nice shades of meaning, as the 
Greeks did. Words, with them, had a fixed, current 
import; their ideas were taken directly from real life, 
without passing through such a refining mental process 
as with the Greeks. 

A third peculiarity of the language is its plainness 
and precision, as seen in its prevailing use of positive 
and explicit affirmation. The character of the old 
and pure Latin is remarkably assertatory. Hypothetical 
representations were not common till a later period, 
when the Greek influence prevailed in Roman literature. 
Consequently the language did not possess that nice 
tracery of fugitive thoughts and feelings with which 
the Greek abounded ; a language which by means of its 
dialects, its particles, and its general flexibility, could so 
color and shade the subordinate parts of a sentence, as to 
insinuate in a thousand ways what it did not directly 
assert. The etymological meaning of words can be more 
easily traced by direct logical consequence in the Latin 
than in the Greek. Almost every signification, even 
when accidental in its origin, can be accounted for, by 
reason of the straight-forward course of thought peculiar 
to the Roman people. Every thing appears to spring 
naturally out of a sound exercise of the understanding. 
Many Latin constructions indicate, that the writers 
drew their materials directly from practical life, where 
established customs controlled alike the act and its 
delineation in writing. 

That the language of the Romans was distinguished 
for perspicuity and simplicity, might be inferred from 
what has already been said. It was formed for the 
popular eloquence of a calculating people; it was the 



HISTORY OF THE LATIN LANGUAGE. 311 

language of deliberation, and its powers were developed 
in the form of plain, intelligible prose composition. 
There was little room here for the fancy to play 
with indefinite and half-formed images. Caesar is 
characteristically described, as "holding up well-drawn 
pictures in a clear light." Loose constructions, carrying 
sentences into forms arbitrarily protracted, were avoided, 
as unfavorable to definiteness of aim, and energy of 
expression. The Latin, more than any other language, 
was subject to fixed usage. In the better periods of its 
history, no one could, with impunity, go beyond the limits 
of established general usage; authority was acknowledged 
as in no other language. Peculiarities are found only in 
certain ages, or in particular kinds of composition ; and 
there they form the exception, not the rule. 

Furthermore, a manly considerateness and gravity, 
peculiar to the Roman character, are visibly enstamped 
upon the language. It is regular and temperate in 
movement. " It may have great power, but not violence ; 
a strong and perpetual current, but not the dashing of a 
torrent." Seneca, the author of these words, adds, a little 
further on, " The Roman language is circumspect, and 
addresses itself to the judgment of sober and calculating 
minds," — a description which perfectly agrees with the 
Roman sense of dignity, and aversion both to vulgarity 
and to finery. There is, accordingly, something heavy 
in its expression of sentiment, a want of easy movement 
and playfulness, presenting a contrast of " Roman 
power" with "Attic grace." "The more delicate hues of 
language," observes the same writer, "seem to be denied 
us, and conceded only to the Greeks. We have not the 
Attic grace, but we have superior power ; we are excelled 
in subtilty, but not in weightiness." A jest, in Latin, is 
generally heavy and astringent, and not light and playful, 
as in Greek. 



312 CLASSICAL STUDIES. 

The Latin language, having received its culture 
chiefly in social intercourse, and in popular assemblies, 
before being extensively used in books, early became 
pre-eminently the language of oratory. All language 
formed more for the ear than for the eye, gives greater 
scope to rhythmical expression. The arrangement of the 
thought, the position of the words, and the construction of 
the sentences, are all directed to a single object, — to 
readiness of apprehension. It cannot be denied, that 
the Latin language, and the whole body of its literature, 
have a rhetorical character, a circumstance which, when 
no precautions were taken, exposed it to the faults of 
diffuseness. 






IX. 



EDUCATION OF THE MORAL SENTIMENT 

AMONG 

THE ANCIENT GREEKS. 

A DISCOURSE, 
BY FREDERIC JACOBS. 



27 



MORAL EDUCATION OF THE GREEKS. 



When, once upon a time, as the ancients relate, 
Pythagoras, the Samian, had maintained a long and 
ingenious conversation with Leon, the prince of the 
Phliasians, the prince, surprised at the variety of his 
knowledge, and the sagacity of his views, asked him 
what art he chiefly practised ; the sage replied, that 
he practised no art, but was a lover of wisdom. When 
Leon, marvelling at the novelty of the term, inquired its 
meaning, the Samian answered, that he thought the life 
of man might be compared to the public mart which was 
associated with the fairest and most sacred festivals of 
Greece. For, as at Olympia, some aspired to fame and 
distinction by bodily strength, others toiled for gain in 
the occupations of business, while others, finally, and 
those the best of all, regardless of admiration and profit, 
only observed and weighed attentively the conduct, 
character, and manners of the rest ; just so, in the great 
mart of life, some were striving for fame, others for 
wealth ; but that, besides these classes of persons, there 
still existed a small number, who, caring little for other 
objects, had turned their thoughts to the nature of things, 
and their essential character alone ; and that these were 
the men whom he called lovers of wisdom, philosophers ; 



316 CLASSICAL STUDIES. 

and as there, it was the most liberal and exalted part to 
be a looker-on, without regard to personal gain, so, too, in 
life, the contemplation of things, and the understanding of 
them, should be set above all other human endeavors. 

In this decision of one of the wisest men of antiquity 
upon the order of precedence among the labors of man, 
which we see to have been recognized in later times, also, 
by the best of the Greeks, there is shown a sharp contrast 
between the mode of thinking of this nation and the 
sentiments of barbarous tribes. By them this order 
is reversed. They only admit the claims of gainful 
occupation, which has its gaze fixed on earth, and 
makes use of earthly materials, for earthly ends ; they 
will barely endure the free play of the powers, which 
aims at nothing but to satisfy itself; they enjoy it, if it 
fills the time agreeably, but never hold it in high regard ; 
the leisurely spectator, however, who only observes what 
is going forward, and how things come to pass, they 
are hardly willing to tolerate, regarding him as a parasitic 
member of the community. Most certainly they will 
discover nothing exalted in such an occupation ; and as, 
according to their view, this mark of honor belongs not 
even to the first class of the Samian sage, and the 
second, by universal consent, has no claim whatever 
thereto, so, among the barbarians in the open mart of 
life, as Pythagoras calls it, no place will any where be 
found for lofty excellence. 

Now, however, there can be no doubt that a nation rids 
itself of the stigma of barbarism, just in proportion as it 
not merely respects, but, in comparison with selfish 
pursuits, holds, as pre-eminently generous, liberal, and 
exalted, the disinterested effort for the acquisition of 
knowledge, which shows itself in contemplation, and the 
free play of mind, which is brought to light in the 
production and representation of the beautiful. 



MORAL EDUCATION OF THE GREEKS. 317 

We are acquainted with no nation of the ancient world, 
among whom, this strain of thought was so controlling, 
or among whom, in the whole tendency of their political 
life, and of the festal assemblies, it stood forth so real and 
lively as among the Greeks. It was not here a specious 
opinion, but a deeply-rooted, though often obscure belief, 
which pervaded the whole civilization of Greece, and even 
stamped upon it the characteristic seal of a spirit nobler 
and loftier than common. Or is there aught that would 
fain make a stronger claim to this superior excellence, than 
that religious tone of feeling, which pays homage only to 
the beautiful and the lofty ; esteems naught highly, that 
is not great, but holds naught great, unless it soar beyond 
the sphere of earth ? Or could one doubt the existence 
of such a tone of feeling among the Greeks, where what 
is greatest and most beautiful is revealed to us, in the 
domain of art, by countless noble works, and in the 
province of political life, by just as many examples of 
great renunciation, sublime self-sacrifice, and illustrious 
deeds ; nay, where even whole communities, like the 
Spartan State, founded on belief in the might of the 
idea, knew no greater blessing than freedom, and sacrificed 
life itself with delight for the preservation of this blessing, 
which was purchased by a joyless existence ? 

We may venture unhesitatingly to appeal to the voice 
of history, as well as to the feeling of every man, who has 
taken a comprehensive view of the deeds and works of 
the Grecian world in connection with their political 
institutions, their internal and external relations, their 
legislation, science and art, for confirmation of the fact, 
that among them breathes the breath of a beautiful morality 
as among no other people, and that the magical splendor 
which yet pours around them, after so many centuries, is 
nothing else than the reflection of a purer nature and of 
a superior excellence of character. What the ancients 
27* 



318 CLASSICAL STUDIES. 

declared of the Indian kings, that they were much statelier 
and nobler than their subjects, may be affirmed of the 
Greeks, in comparison with other nations. And as, 
according' to the belief of antiquity, the gods selected but 
a few from the mass of men, whom they thought worthy 
to be instructed by themselves, and even adorned the 
life of those, whom they desired to render truly happy, 
so, also, they seem to have chosen the Greeks from 
the mass of nations, in order to hold them up as their 
special favorites to future ages. For even now, after 
such manifold changes of time and circumstances, Greek 
antiquity appears to us not merely as an object of 
admiration, in many points of view, but also, taking into 
consideration the infirmity of man, as endowed more than 
any other nation, with an exquisite refinement of moral 
feeling. Where, indeed, could a compensation be found 
for the European world, — moulded as it has been the last 
four hundred years, in its highest relations, — were it 
possible suddenly to snap asunder the threads that bind 
it to antiquity ; or, if its works could be annihilated, and 
even the memory of their greatness and excellence sunk 
in the waves of oblivion ? Whither could the European 
world turn, to find in deed and in truth another model of 
exalting virtue, in the relations of men and of citizens, 
if the gods and heroes of this earthly Olympus were 
withdrawn from our gaze, and for us were overthrown 
the frame of this wondrous world, in which the loftiest 
greatness seems not impossible of belief, because all there 
stands so high? this world, full of mighty vigor, as of 
grace and charm, in which beauty seems moral, and 
morality looks beautiful, and both appear as a peculiar 
growth of nature, and in this phenomenon give an 
example of a concordant union of qualities, which singly 
beget applause or reverence, but only in their harmonious 
blending can enchant the soul and raise it above itself. 



MORAL EDUCATION OF THE GREEKS. 319 

Now, if it should here be asked, what the nations of 
modern times, with the numberless advantages which the 
measureless increase of knowledge of every sort, and the 
multiplication of the means for attaining what we call 
culture, and, finally, the correction of so many conceptions 
of God, and of divine things, that influence the moral 
feelings, which we owe to Christianity, have undeniably 
supplied ; if it be asked, what, as far as regards the use 
made of such important advantages, they have yet to set 
off against antiquity, a more complete reply to this very 
comprehensive question may be left for others ; but we 
choose to confine ourselves to an investigation of the 
sources from which flowed the superiority of the Greeks, 
Ave have mentioned before. Did they both stand, with 
regard to morality, in an inverted relation ; had the 
Greeks been enlightened and warmed by the revelations 
of Christianity, and were the modern world sunk in 
polytheism and heathenism, the solution of the latter 
problem would be extremely easy. On the other hand, 
it is undeniable, that the teaching of virtue, so far as 
that is comprehended in words and doctrines, was 
defective among the most of the Greeks; but the mythical 
religion, instead of giving life and purity to the idea of 
morals, rather darkened and confounded them ; while the 
Christian world, as it should seem, is not only guarded 
by the light of religion from error, but guided by her 
commands along the path of a generous and moral 
culture, and invited to a virtuous and godly life. 

Now what may be drawn, by way of reply to the 
question proposed, from outward and accidental influences, 
has indeed passed unnoticed by but few who have written 
upon this nation ; but yet the real efficacy of these 
influences has been sometimes estimated quite too highly. 
It is certainly true, that where morality is to unfold its 



320 CLASSICAL STUDIES. 

fairest blossoms, nature must have bestowed her gifts 
with no step-mother's niggard hand ; but these gifts, 
which of themselves are neither moral nor the opposite, 
require, like a vigorous soil, in order to bear fruit, sound 
seed, and the sunshine of a wise and wholesome fostering 
care. As the sky of Hellas surpasses nearly all other 
climates in brightness and elasticity, so, also, has nature 
dealt most lovingly with the inhabitants of this land. 
Through the whole being of the Greek there reigned 
supreme a quick susceptibility, out of which sprang a 
gladsome serenity of temper and a keen enjoyment of life; 
acute senses, and nimbleness of apprehension; a guileless 
and childlike feeling, full of trust and faith, combined 
with prudence and forecast. These peculiarities lay 
so deeply imbedded in the inmost nature of the Greeks, 
that no revolutions of time and circumstances have yet 
been able utterly to destroy them ; nay, it may be asserted, 
that even now, after centuries of degradation, they have 
not been wholly extinguished in the inhabitants of ancient 
Hellas. They are stamped, like an Hellenic signet, upon 
their greatest and noblest deeds, as well as upon their 
worst crimes ; and the earnest temper of the historian is not, 
perhaps, quite just, when he pours out his wrath upon an 
inflammability of character, which, like the heat of a 
volcanic soil, sometimes lays waste, and sometimes kindly 
fosters ; or, upon the childlike temper, that hastily takes 
up, and quickly throws aside, easily commits a crime, and 
easier still repents ; breaks out with wrath, to its own 
harm, and loves with equal violence ; pursues sport with 
seriousness, and often deals sportively with matters of 
serious weight. This is not the proper subject for just 
anger. As in most of the affairs of earth, evil is here 
mingled with good, and, like mirth and melancholy, 
spring from one and the same root. The same power, 



MORAL EDUCATION OF THE GREEKS. 321 

which clothes the earth's surface with healing plants, and 
giveth increase to the most generous wines, brings forth 
also the multitude of useless and poisonous weeds. 

But the more vigorous the powers of nature were in 
that people, the more urgent becomes the question, what 
it was that tempered their violence, and made that which 
threatened to act destructively in them, beneficent. "What 
was it that so triumphantly opposed sublime abstinence to 
wild impulse, the cool contempt of death to the glowing 
joy of life, and a sacred and pious respect for moderation 
and discipline to unbridled desire ? Whence came that 
self-control, which takes such mighty hold of us, just when 
contrasted with surpassing power ? that reverence for the 
majesty of law ? that temperance in enjoyment, along with 
the most fiery temptations, and the richest abundance of 
its objects ? the tendency to the ideal, in the very midst 
of a subduing reality ? And if these phenomena are not 
to be attributed to a blind force of nature, what, then, did 
so wondrously strengthen and wing the moral freedom 
of man's exalted nature, precisely among this people ? 

If morality is the inward health of man, and health 
consists in the harmonious accord of all his powers, so 
that even his baser part, the chaos of his impulses and 
desires, obeys the free principle of his higher nature, not 
merely with a slavish fear, but, pervaded by this principle, 
itself assumes the character of freedom; it is manifest, 
that such a harmony cannot be the result of force and 
compulsion. Morality is inward beauty ; but beauty is 
the flower of freedom. Severe law makes the useful 
slave, but the moral man should be the very image of 
freedom. True, indeed, above the warring elements 
of manifold powers, impulses and inclinations, which 
primarily toss and billow in the soul, hovers the imperial 
will, as an austere Nemesis, with her measure of right, 
or as inexorable Justice, to check the wild uproar, and to 



322 CLASSICAL STUDIES. 

enforce the majesty of law. Certainly, this power, 
certainly, the god in man, must enjoin reverence upon 
the lower nature, and fright it back within its banks, 
when it breaks through the barriers ; but he who restores 
the lost equipoise, is not therefore its author and creator. 
As, according to a profound opinion of the ancient sages, 
the stormy rage of the yeasty elements, and their wild 
discord, were dissolved and reduced to order by the power 
of love, so, too, is it the magic of beauty in the human soul, 
which curbs its passions with gentle rein ; it is the breath 
of love, that unites like to like, and reconciles the jarring 
elements ; that unfolds the hidden germ of the inner man, 
until it blossoms, and works the miracle of a harmony, 
by which unruly accident is pervaded with the law of 
necessity, and necessity itself is transfigured to the shape 
of freedom. 

Hence it has long been acknowledged, that human 
nature, in order to be trained to morality, requires a 
mediator, who shall reconcile the severity of unbending 
law with the wantonness of wildly-stirring impulses ; 
purify and exalt them ; soften by love the former, without 
abasement of its majesty; and it has been acknowledged, 
too, that this mediator is no other than the idea of beauty 
and sublimity, in which the divine nature, as the source 
and origin of the moral law, reveals itself in the earthly. 
This is the sun of the heaven within us, around which 
the elements of our being gather in regular and freely 
moving dance ; pervaded by whose beams, every impulse 
is transfigured, and when the time for action is at hand, 
comes forth, like the son of Tydeus, with glory blazing 
round it, kindling admiration and emulous delight. 

Hence it follows, as the first demand upon an education 
which is to form the morals, that it set up in the soul, and 
inspire with life, the idea of the beautiful and the great, 
along with imperative law. That the stream of unbridled 



MORAL EDUCATION OF THE GREEKS. 323 

caprice, and of the selfish despotism of the passions, may- 
retire within safe banks, and that blind impulse may 
freely fall in with the order of a legislating government of 
the intellect, unshackled force must be encountered by 
the idea, which, because it comes down from God, is 
mightier than every earthly influence ; as law, imperative ; 
but, as beauty, and veiled under the ethereal disguise of 
an image recognizable by the senses, kindly chiming in 
with the inclinations of the heart. For, in man's inward 
economy, none of the priceless powers of his nature 
should be lost ; each should keep the place in which it 
can work with the best and most salutary effect; and, 
inasmuch as they all tend towards his godlike part, his 
inmost being should be moulded to a whole, of the purest, 
holiest, and most enchanting harmony. 

For the attainment of such an end, even the most 
complete and profound instruction is insufficient ; nor can 
an education promote it, which, instead of freely and 
harmoniously unfolding the powers of the soul, only 
aims to establish the supremacy of the understanding, 
and for this purpose, exhausts itself in the invention 
and application of methods and mechanical means. An 
education of this kind is much more likely to destroy the 
germ which it should waken into life, because, instead of 
leading the mind to freedom, it subjects it to habit, which 
is essentially different from virtue, and would fain barter 
moral freedom for an instinct which befits only the beast. 
Mechanism has never given birth to greatness in the 
moral world. Nature, which never makes one flower like 
another, multiplies the variety of her forms the higher 
she ascends ; but she reaches her greatest variety in the 
realm of morals. And would it not be a sin against her 
laws to resist this tendency? to aim at uniformity, where 
she seeks the greatest variety? and so, were it possible, 



324 CLASSICAL STUDIES. 

to dwarf the hardy growth of the cedar down to the 
measure of the dottard ? 

No nation, that believed in the force of education 
generally, has ever kept itself freer from this error than 
the Greek. The exuberance of inbred vigor, which they 
were conscious of possessing, early moved them to look 
round for the means of over-mastering it. But while 
they recognized the principle of the maxim, " nothing to 
excess," and the rule of moderation as the great law of 
culture, they never forgot that overflowing fulness might 
be arrested without drying it up, and that the excess of 
power should be curbed, but not crippled. They educated 
the youth according to this conviction ; according to it, 
they trained themselves until they reached the years of 
maturity; and the vigorous morality, which delights us 
in them, was the work of this education. We shall, 
therefore, have to speak here, not merely of that education 
which was marked out for childhood, but of the means of 
moral culture at large, which were found in Greece ; a 
subject which will most easily fall into the proper order, 
if we first consider the peculiarities of the Grecian mode 
of youthful education, and then the springs from which 
the men of ripened years continually moistened the plant 
of mental and moral culture. 

As the education of the Grecian youth has been 
described by many, we shall confine ourselves to the 
attempt to trace its spirit according to the principles that 
have been already intimated. But it will not be useless 
to remark, in this place, that, although we are here to 
speak of Grecian culture in general, we nevertheless 
give our attention chiefly to Attica, not only because we 
possess the most complete knowledge of this country, but, 
also, because the subject of our observations is here shown 
in its greatest perfection. 



MORAL EDUCATION OF THE GREEKS. 325 

With a great diversity of details, Greek education was 
chiefly limited to two things, Gymnastics and Music. 
All that served for the improvement of the body was 
comprehended under the first, and what was adapted to 
unfold the mind, under the second. One was intended to 
complete, nay, to pervade the other, and, from the union 
of the two, should proceed that tone of feeling which 
ennobles the enjoyment of the life of the senses, endures 
hardships for the sake of higher objects, scorns danger 
and death for freedom and country, and bears prosperity 
and leisure with easy grace and dignity. An education, 
that wanted either the one or the other, would have been 
rejected as illiberal; hence, even the Spartan discipline, 
strongly as its objects tended to a partial and imperfect 
cultivation of the powers, did not neglect the musical 
education. On tbis two-fold path, the youth, as soon as 
he had outgrown the women's care, was led on towards 
a moral goal. But how this was done, and how even 
gymnastics had a decided bearing upon the morals, it is 
incumbent on us, above all things, to show. 

Here, that our judgment may not be led astray, by 
confounding together different though closely-connected 
subjects, we must be careful not to confound gymnastics 
with athletic exercises. The former only was considered 
a means of culture for freeborn youths, while athletic 
training was deemed a mechanical trade, that often 
disfigured the body, and either left the mind vacant, 
or else led it into a savage and unruly state. For, 
while the athletic art, — being, in its degeneracy, closely 
connected with the art of the tumbler, — was occupied, 
not in developing the whole body, but only in carrying 
this or that of its powers to the highest perfection, nay, to 
a wonderful degree, gymnastics aimed, by the uniform 
development of every part of the body, to promote its 
health, and to make it prompt and vigorous for every 
28 



326 CLASSICAL STUDIES. 

service. It is an erroneous idea, to limit the aim of these 
exercises to war alone, for the hardships of which, they 
were, indeed, a preparation, but no more than they taught 
the proper enjoyment of the repose of peace. For what 
gymnastics aimed at, independently of all practical use, 
was, to procure for the mind the most befitting repose, by 
the consciousness of dominion over the body in its healthy 
state, and by the harmony between the obedient and the 
ruling part, and to set forth the inward harmony of the 
free spirit, by the outward appearance. Hence, the want 
of that becoming address, which gymnastics secured, was 
censured as the distinguishing mark of a barbarian, and a 
baseborn man, inasmuch as it betokened either vulgar 
strength of body, or feebleness and incapacity, an offensive 
want of equipoise. 

Now, while the blooming youth, under the eyes of 
their teachers and of the gymnastic masters, who were 
appointed and watched by the magistrates, and in whom 
correct sentiments and morals were required, no less than 
a knowledge of their business, in a spot consecrated and 
protected by the gods, engaged in a toilsome, but delightful 
sport, after a strict method and the most precise laws, 
they became not only accustomed to submit with pleasure 
to law, which is the foundation of civic discipline, but 
learned, at the same time, what deserves no less attention, 
to guard, inviolate and pure, sacred modesty, the root of 
all morality. The asceticism of a later age, revolutionized 
in all its elements, has unjustly taken offence at the nudity 
of the Grecian youth in their gymnasia, and seen a slough 
of the most infamous moral corruption, where dwelt at first 
innocence and order. All is not to be called immoral that 
offends the rules of modern decency, which is often made 
to serve as a veil to the deepest corruption. For, that false 
shame, which, under the show of decency, secretly fosters 
licentiousness, which, like a hidden fire, wastes away the 



MORAL EDUCATION OF THE GREEKS. 327 

bloom of youth, and often makes a richly gifted nature 
incapable of every great and noble effort, is the very 
antipodes of innocence. Who was ever more modest than 
the Grecian youth in the common intercourse of life ? 
Where was innocence ever more anxiously guarded, and 
sacred shame fostered with greater wisdom ? Unharmed, 
they practised their exhilarating employment, robed 
beautifully in the peculiar sanctity of youth. The delight 
and enthusiasm they felt in the hardy exercises which 
absorbed them, were a sufficient safeguard against the 
poisonous breath of impure desire. Thus gymnastics, 
like art, affected the moral feelings. As in the latter, the 
weight of the material substance, pervaded by the living 
idea within it, seems to vanish from the eye of the body, 
and only the image, as the symbol of the idea, remains in 
the soul, so, also, in the gymnasia, all other thoughts and 
feelings were lost in the delight inspired by the nature of 
the occupation and its exalted aims. 

The moral influence of the gymnasia was felt through 
the whole life of the Greeks, and far from being schools 
of profligacy, they rather accustomed the pupils, not only 
to distinguish, but to honor beauty. Hence, too, among 
no other people, has art managed the nude with more 
chasteness, nor kept itself, in the representation of 
human and divine beings, more aloof from those impure 
suggestions, to which modern art, regardless of the 
demands of morals and religion, has only too often been 
degraded. It was also in the gymnasia, that the friendship 
of beautiful young men grew up most frequently, which 
seemed to prolong the heroic age, and, as it sprang from 
virtue, so it produced virtue. This kind of friendship, in 
which the glow of feeling was refined into the noblest 
enthusiasm, was so favored by the political institutions 
of the Grecian world, that, even were the ancients 
silent upon it, it must have been, almost of necessity, 



328 CLASSICAL STUDIES. 

pre-supposed. True, indeed, the female sex were, 
through its influence, withdrawn somewhat more into the 
privacy of the women's apartment ; but how could this be 
otherwise, in a democracy which tolerates no half-way 
condition, but can only flourish through men and lofty 
manhood? But, although here and there, the women 
themselves were cultivated up to a certain point of 
greatness, as in Sparta, or though some raised themselves, 
by their own efforts, above the ordinary measure of 
Avomanhood, still the last case too seldom occurred, to 
make any material difference, and the former was not 
without its disadvantages ; so that the citizen, who was 
formed, not for the narrow sphere of domestic life, but for 
public affairs, felt the need of a companion, in whose early 
vigor, sustained and elevated by the virtue of the older 
friend, he loved to look upon the prolongation of his own 
youthful bloom. That this generous and moral affection 
often degenerated into infamous vice is readily admitted. 
Far oftener it seems great and sacred; a source of noble 
deeds and glorious sacrifices; free from all effeminacy; a 
parent of manly strength, and a rich source of that divine 
enthusiasm which subdues fear, defies death, and can live 
and die for country, right, and law. 

Further, it is not unimportant to remark, that the 
gymnasia, as schools of emulation, served to purify the 
passion for distinction. To kindle ambition, as well as 
to keep it within proper limits, is one of the most difficult 
problems of modern education; and, for the ancient States, 
its solution was perhaps of the more importance, because, 
for want of a centralizing political force, the effects of 
a bad ambition must have been more pernicious, than 
in a monarchy, where the distribution of power among 
many members seldom allows individuals to run into 
any great excess. Aside from this view, however, for 
the individual all ambition is pernicious, which, without 



MORAL EDUCATION OF THE GREEKS. 329 

virtue, aspires to virtue's rewards, and. struggles to gain, 
by mere deception and varied hypocritic fraud, that 
consideration which belongs to worth alone. This is 
the rock, that threatens that kind of emulation which is 
directed only to the acquisition of knowledge, as it can, in 
this case, never be known whether it has set up a worthy 
goal for the aspirations of the mind, inasmuch as it easily 
happens, that even the low seems high when encompassed 
with the cloud of deception. The gymnasia of the 
ancients, on the contrary, were a centre of the most open 
and honest endeavor ; and, as this endeavor was noble in 
itself, and, without the least reference to further use or 
future reward, was directed to an agreeable object, so no 
deception was to be thought of in the case, but the contest 
was every way honorable, and the reward deserved by 
the strict fulfilment of the legally prescribed conditions. 
Whenever the contrary happens, a retrograde movement 
in moral education is unavoidable, since either vanity or 
self-interest, or both together, are nourished and fostered ; 
while he, who exercised the powers of his body in the 
palaestra according to the law, advanced by every victory 
over a rival, in that kind of culture which was sought 
here alone, and could here alone be won. 

The kindred nature of the subject brings us to the 
solemn games, which, with their differences in other 
respects, yet, like the gymnastic exercises, cherished a 
respect for voluntary and disinterested efforts of strength 
and the sacrifice of wealth. It was with reference to this 
effect, that those games were held as sacred. In them, 
more perhaps than in any other stated solemnity, they 
believed that they felt the presence of the gods, who 
gathered for their own glory a whole people, in the 
shade of a hallowed grove, by sacred rivers, and led those, 
who, with long practised strength, entered upon the race- 
ground, through peril and toil, to a goal, where a speedily 



330 CLASSICAL STUDIES. 

withering crown was the reward, or rather the symbol 
of the reward, of victory. Every body knows how high 
such a victory, which led to nothing further, stood in the 
eyes of the people, and what a glory it shed, not only on 
the person of the victor, but even on his country and his 
whole race. Neither must we here think of any bearing 
it had upon war. The ancients expressly declare, that, of 
a great number of Athletes, who had gained the prizes, 
only a very few distinguished themselves in war; and, 
even were athletic exercises admitted to be available in 
war, how could this consideration have kindled that 
enthusiasm, in which it was fancied that the highest 
degree of earthly happiness had been gained by the victor, 
and his future care must be, not to forget his self-command 
while standing on this giddy height. This enthusiasm 
must have flowed from another and a purer source. The 
vigorous, disinterested, and heaven-favored game, was to 
them a joyous image of the life of great men, who 
struggle through the long career of severe duties, in order 
to enjoy, at the high goal, the quickening breath of future 
immortality. 

Now, also, in order to speak of the second part of 
education, the musical, which embraced all that seemed 
requisite for the cultivation of the mind, we must first 
consider music in its more restricted and peculiar sense. 
The modern world has by no means weighed, according 
to its importance, the fact, that music is not only an object 
but a means of education, and can promote or hinder 
moral culture ; nay, widely as the power of enjoying it is 
extended, still it seems to but few of sufficient importance 
to be an object of attention to the State, the government, 
and the laws. Music is to the modern world, as well as 
other arts, but music pre-eminently, a means of recreation 
after the toils of the day are over, or a delightful occupation 
for vacant hours, which may, at the same time, serve as a 



MORAL EDUCATION OF THE GREEKS. 331 

social amusement, perhaps, only more deeply and tenderly 
to move the heart by its varied charms. But that this 
emotion may have a moral influence, may be wholesome 
or injurious, is but seldom remarked, although it cannot 
be denied, that whatever has the power of seizing upon 
the heart, can both exalt, and lower and degrade it. But 
this art is abused in more ways than one, in the education 
of the young; it is practised only as an amusement, 
and with no thought of its serious purposes ; then, in 
order to reach the maximum of artifice, difficulties are 
accumulated, without regard to sense or substance, and it 
is turned into a school of vanity ; finally, because released 
from the accompaniment of words, it is converted into an 
unmeaning display of enervating fascinations. For in 
this, its unfettered form, it is almost inevitable, that the 
wonderful art, by the endless abundance of ideas guided 
by it, shapeless and undeveloped to the soul, should 
breed a melancholy, which, often indulged, unmans the 
mind. To the unsteady and wavering spirit of youth so 
vague a pleasure should be offered, least of all. Hence 
no music is really healthy to them, except that which 
clothes noble words in tones of like character, and lends 
to lofty thoughts its ethereal wings. 

The ancients understood themselves perfectly on these 
principles. Among thern, music was united with poetry, 
and inherited from the earliest times and their heroes. 
In the camp of the Greeks, and while the battle was 
roaring in the distance, the son of Peleus touched the 
strings of the lyre, and unburdened his heart of its 
sorrow, while he sang the glory and the deeds of former 
times. Chiron, the wise centaur, was also a singer, and 
the sons of heroes, trained in his school, learned of him 
the inspiring art. Wherever we meet it, it stands in 
league with poetry ; at times, also, they both clasp the 
band of the graces around the sister dance in the festivals 



332 CLASSICAL STUDIES. 

of the gods. In this communion, it guided the hearts 
of men to the loftiest aims, and seemed to work miracles. 
For not without historical foundation, like phantoms 
floating in the clouds, are those old legends of a Thracian 
Orpheus, an Amphion, and other singers of hoary eld, 
who, not by exceeding art, hut by the wise use which 
they knew how to make of the simple means of their art, 
moved to their inmost depths the hearts of mankind, just 
awakening to consciousness, and seemed to breathe a soul 
into nature herself, by the living strength of their inspired 
songs. Thus, too, was music handed down to after 
generations. Long time remained she true to her olden 
form in the schools of youth, where, wedded to the simple 
and inspired words of ancient songs, she seemed like the 
voice of the past. All was here harmonious and united. 
The words were earnest, pious and instructive ; the 
rhythms were magnificent and solemn, the melody simple 
and appropriate, so that she encompassed the body of the 
words only with the mist of a delicate veil, and enlivened 
the strong outlines of the poem by a few softly tinted 
colors. While the art, in this manner, took a strong hold 
of the heart, to bear it upwards with itself into the 
atmosphere of the gods, from which its spirit-voice seems 
to resound, it contributed essentially to the purification 
of the feelings ; and, at the same time, by displaying 
lofty figures, through the means of poetry, guarded 
against the danger that the feelings would dissolve in the 
voluptuousness of unmanly enjoyment. On this effect of 
music only one opinion prevailed among the ancients. 
As it is Avell known to every one, says Aristotle, that the 
whole tone of the feelings is changed by the varieties 
of music, so, too, it is impossible to doubt, that song and 
rhythm can form the soul to morals ; and that between 
the nature of the soul, and the nature of rhythms and 
of harmony, a close relation seems to exist; and hence 



MORAL EDUCATION OF THE GREEKS. 333 

many philosophers affirmed, that the soul was either 
harmony itself, or contained harmony in itself. Plato 
also declares, in more than one passage of his works, 
that rhythm and harmony, by deeply penetrating and 
seizing upon the soul, introduces morality, propriety and 
dignity; and wholly in accordance with these views is 
the opinion, that the corruption of morals among many 
nations resulted from the neglect of these principles, and 
that the decline of entire States was the consequence of 
the changes which music had undergone. 

By this view of music, it was decided how and to what 
extent the art was to be applied in education. The 
striving for an excess of artificial execution was rejected 
as illiberal; hence, also, it was enjoined to carry the 
study of the art only so far as was necessary to recognize 
the beautiful in song and rhythm. For this reason, the 
most intelligent among the ancients disapproved of 
instruction upon such instruments as were very difficult 

: to manage ; accordingly, the Bosotian flute, for example, 
was rejected in Athens, because, besides this, instead of 
producing a moral tone of mind, it was rather a disturber 
of the calmness and serenity of the soul. Thus, also, in 
the instruction of youth, all kinds of rhythm were not 
indiscriminately allowed, but only those which were 
believed to purify the passions ; and the Dorian mood 
was accordingly preferred to all other melodies, because 
it most completely represented dignified repose, and, 
more than any other, bore stamped upon it the character 
of courage and manliness. 

If these and similar reflections, which can here be 
merely indicated by us, but are wont to be set forth by 
the ancients with the greatest earnestness, as upon one of 

| the weightiest subjects, are either strange, or indifferent, 
or ludicrous to the modern world, this fact does not 
prove their unreasonableness, but rather, that among the 



334 CLASSICAL STUDIES. 

ancients the moral sense was more exquisite, and the 
respect for its sacred character, and for all the means by 
which it may either be fortified or violated, was more 
deeply grounded. The modern world, filled with the 
delusive dream, of sufficiently forwarding the aims of 
humanity by theories and sermons, has, for the most part, 
left the rest to accident ; and then accident has never 
ceased, in what we call culture, to break up, by the 
intermingling of hostile elements, its inward unity. Thus 
in our age, by the excess of artificiality, after which 
modern music strives, its moral efficacy is almost destroyed, 
and in its place an admiration for difficulties overcome has 
succeeded, which, if it ever rises to enthusiasm, is fruitless, 
perhaps even ruinous, to moral culture. The further art 
follows this tendency, the less will it accomplish for that 
on which the ancients set the greatest value ; and it is 
probable, that it will pursue this path, until the abuse, 
when it has reached the highest summit, shall perish by 
its own excess. 

The next thing we have to do is to speak of poetry, as 
that which, among the musical means of culture, takes 
the first rank along with music proper. As this art, in 
which the ancients rightly saw a gift of the gods, and a 
token of their love to the human race, contributed most, 
during the youthful period of the aspiring Grecian world, 
to draw out the delicate blossom of moral feeling, its rank 
remained inviolate, even through the following times, in 
the education of the young, and the continued culture of 
the more advanced. In this way, the first and greatest 
benefactors of the Greeks were those highly gifted 
interpreters of the muses, who grew up in Greece like a 
miracle of nature, and as they first kindled on the altars of 
the genius of a higher humanity the sacred flame which 
glowed and burned within them, have filled with light 
and heat a long succession of ages. As the state of the 



MORAL EDUCATION OF THE GREEKS. 335 

heavens in early morning mostly determines the weather 
of the whole day, so the ruddy dawn of the Grecian sky 
decided the course of culture among this people. From 
the twilight of their antiquity, gleamed upon them, 
through an interval of gloomier times, and perhaps only 
the more brightly on that very account, encircled with the 
radiant crown of heroic poesy, the deeds of great 
forefathers, and a mighty race, the kindred of the gods. 
A wondrous world, peopled with lofty shapes, filled their 
popular songs ; and this world was their own ; it was the 
heads of their families, the founders of their States, the 
kings of their cities, who moved in this lustre, and, with 
intelligible voice summoned every Grecian heart to 
admire and imitate. With these voices the soul of the 
boy was made familiar, as soon as his powers began to 
awaken ; and, as Homer's poems were the rich source of 
all art in Greece, so were they also a school of morality, 
in which the old as well as the young were taught. A 
work like this, no other nation of our quarter of the globe 
has possessed; a work, in which the perfection of the 
form stands in such equipoise with the wealth of the 
national material unfolded by the poet, with equal calmness 
and love, that one may doubt whether the Greeks 
learned more, or enjoyed more pleasure, or derived more 
cultivation from it. This school of heroic poetry, which 
likewise possessed the advantage of an olden, and, as it 
were, consecrated language, seemed to people the young 
man's soul with friendly gods and guardian spirits ; and, 
as Athena stands at the side of the son of Tydeus, in the 
battle's din, and with nimble hand turns off the hostile 
shaft, so the imperishable glory of those high forms attended 
the Grecian youth, in order to shield or rescue his better 
nature amidst the turmoil of life. Thus, therefore, the 
gods, whose friendly presence, according to the ancient 
faith, had adorned the life of the heroes, had not vanished 



336 CLASSICAL STUDIES. 

even from the later race. And, as their image had stood 
before the soul of the poets, so, through the mediation of 
these, their favorites, did they appear to others also, and 
spake to them, through the mouths of the poets, who 
were looked upon by the wisest and best, as the favored 
darlings of the immortals, and sometimes as their 
interpreters among men. 

Considered from this point of view, the custom 
established by antiquity, of making the poets, and Homer, 
particularly, the basis of moral education, is perfectly 
justified. True, indeed, the Homeric poems, like every I 
work of such ancient times, contain a great deal that will 
not stand the test of a severe morality; a circumstance 
that led the ancients themselves sometimes into error, 
when they fixed their view too closely on particulars, and 
thereby weakened the impression of the moral grace 
which surrounds the whole. But still on this point it is 
well understood, that a poem does not always teach best 
by that which is expressly designed to convey instruction, 
and that the wisest thing is not always that which runs 
over with wisdom. The true wisdom of a poem lies in 
its inmost essence, as the germ lies hidden in the deepes. 
bosom of the floAver, and its morality is the reflection of 
the lofty and divine that lies at the foundation of the 
human soul. From this source, and from this alone, 
springs the moral pleasure we take in every genuine 
work of art, whatsoever its subject may be ; and the 
delight, with which its contemplation fills the heart, 
what else is it than the joy we feel in the divine portionr 
of human nature ; in the harmony, purity, innocenct, 
greatness, and disinterestedness of which it is capable ? 

This heavenly atmosphere of morality, with a full 
measure of sublime power, striking truth, and deep 
reflection, is poured over the Homeric, as well as over al.' 
the Grecian poetry. Although originally the daughter of 



MORAL EDUCATION OF THE GREEKS. 337 

a. fair and happy nature, she yet gives token, at her first 
appearance, of that wonderful self-control, which applies a 
measure to the abundance of the materials, just as it creates 
in the soul of the inspired singer himself that equipoise 
which reveals itself through his works like unconscious 
wisdom. But it is the excellence of great works of art, 
that the noble and the elevated, which they embrace, pass 
out of them into the souls of the hearers ; and that the 
lofty repose and divine life, in which they are conceived, 
ire re-produced in the spectator ; and so the spirit of ancient 
poetry passed into the succeeding generations ; and, even 
during a degenerate age, a delicate moral sense was thus 
perpetuated in the judgment, and mostly, also, in the 
works of the Greek nation. 

The refined taste, for which the Greeks have ever been 
extolled, was nothing else than a delicate moral sense. 
Hence was found in Athens, the common centre of all 
refinement, the crowning flower of taste, together with the 
full bloom of morality ; and wdiile poets and artists were 
creating the most finished works, there was also found the 
highest susceptibility to what was most excellent in them. 
This taste, therefore, was no more acquired by learning, 
than art was acquired by study ; and it was any thing but 
the result of theoretic views, which as yet they troubled 
themselves but little about. Once alone, in the history of 
the world, as far as we know, once alone, this concord, 
this harmony of life with art and morals, has appeared; 
not an accidental fact, but the result of the free unfolding 
of a happily-endowed nation, within the limits which their 
educators had prescribed to them. Hence the art of the 
Greeks is mirrored in their life, and the life of the nation 
in their art, inasmuch as the one blooms from the other; and 
thus they are created and moulded, acting and re-acting on 
teach other. True, the morals of an age can never wholly 
disguise their influence on the entire character of its art. 
29 



338 CLASSICAL STUDIES. 

But where they do not correspond to the demands of art, 
the artist will often find occasion to vary from the morals 
of the times, by making himself at home in another age, 
and under another sky. Who sees not, however, that the 
truth of his works is hereby greatly endangered ; and, on the 
other hand, that their moral efficacy is partly weakened, 
partly turned in a false direction, by the want of truth ? 
Why does the ancient poetry, with few exceptions, so far 
surpass the modern in essential truth, except because it 
dared to take men and manners as they were, without 
disguising them under a foreign costume ? and why did it 
wield a mightier influence, except for the same reason ? 
In it the Greek always found his world ; and the true shape 
and the firm outline of a genuine Grecian nature never 
faded away in the poetic radiance which shone around it. 
But how many works of creative genius are there, 
throughout the wide province of modern art, which can 
make the same boast through all their parts ? Are not 
many of the higher and nobler species the works of a 
fantastic caprice, or the reflection of a foreign world? 
nay, often only the reflex of the reflection ? And how 
often the shapeless ugliness of surrounding reality 
triumphantly intrudes upon this toilsome construction 
of foreign materials ; like, for instance, the frosty 
representation of a regal court thrusting itself upon the 
Koman world of a French tragedy ; or the theological 
controversies of the age, working their way into the epic 
poem of a Milton ; or the witty and sententious gallantry 
of an Arcadian Academy into a Jerusalem Delivered? 
But, like the plastic art of modern Europe, its poetry, 
also, in order to satisfy the demands of beauty, has often 
been obliged to desert the truth, in the representation of 
the near and the real, and to borrow from antiquity a 
fair falsehood, not without danger of an insecure and 
uncertain foothold on the foreign soil of poetry. 



MORAL EDUCATION OF THE GREEKS. 339 

The voice of national poetry, which, like a mild and 
heavenly teacher, opened the minds of the Grecian youth 
to all that is fairest and highest in man's nature, was not 
dumb, when he reached his maturity. Nor did she 
appear to him, chained to the dead letters of writing, as 
an occasional pastime for vacant hours, but in the fairest 
moments of life came she to him, with all her festal 
bravery on, inspired and inspiring. As she, though born 
in the dwelling-place of the gods, had descended to the life 
of men, to gladden them with the most exalted pleasures ; 
so among them, also, she loved best to appear at the 
games and festivals of the gods, and lured the gaze of 
mortals upward to a higher world. 

The passion for the drama, which possessed the citizens 
of Athens, has not unfrequently been made a matter of 
reproach to them. The economical grounds of this censure 
we may here allow to rest on their own merits ; but the 
delight in a high and earnest entertainment like the Attic 
tragedy, will always deserve admiration and applause, 
when considered by itself alone. To this entertainment, 
Athens was indebted for the purest and most uncontested 
portion of her renown. With respect to art, it showed 
perfection, not to be surpassed; with respect to morals, 
it was a school of wisdom. And as it was designed for 
the festal celebration of the gods, so it guided, by its 
subject-matter, to a pious worship of them. In it, the 
richest abundance of materials was displayed under the 
wisest limitations, and the freest nature was most closely 
united to the severest law. In Melpomene's chalice, it 
mingled what could stir and calm, rouse and temper the 
feelings; and, while it exhibited the human character 
in its highest dignity and its greatest dependence, it 
resisted the impulse of selfishness, and purified the heart 
by a wholesome agitation of its inmost depths. By this 
admirable entertainment, which never lowered itself to 



340 CLASSICAL STUDIES. 

an equivocal alliance with vulgarity of moral feeling, the 
souls of men were filled with fear of the gods, abhorrence 
of guilty arrogance, and deep reverence for the laws, 
through the strong representation of great events; and the 
distress of the mighty, which it set forth, most fondly 
and most frequently, was not, as many have supposed, 
designed to gratify the democratic rabble, but was meant 
to be an appeal to the strong and the proud, in favor of wise 
moderation, and a demand on them to yield allegiance, 
by the barriers set to human caprice, to the infinite 
power of moral freedom, and to the eternal law of 
righteousness, whose enforcers are the gods. 

Greek tragedy reached its highest perfection in the 
works of Sophocles. As, with reference to the rule of art, 
the equipoise of perfection is disturbed in the tragedies 
of iEschylus, by the struggle for excessive vigor, so is it 
sometimes in Euripides, the third of the great masters 
of tragedy, by an altogether too visible effort after soft 
emotion, and manifold theatrical effects. In him we first 
miss that beautiful self-forgetfulness of the ancient poets, 
inasmuch as in him the quiet greatness and original 
nobleness of the tragic stage, ever and anon, seem to 
have been violated by the utterance of personal feelings, 
and the intrusion of peculiar views. Hence, although he 
scatters instruction on every occasion ; and, to make up, 
it may be, for what he wants in the wisdom of art, by 
the wisdom of the school, every where runs over with 
useful saws ; his poetry, nevertheless, stands below that 
of Sophocles, not only in poetic vigor, but even in moral 
perfection. In his works much has been justly censured 
with respect to the demands of art; but in respect of 
morals, also, the luxuriance of the accumulated materials, 
the vehemence with which the passions are poured forth, 
the want of moderation in the excitement of the melting 
mood, and some other features, are liable to censure. 



MORAL EDUCATION OF THE GREEKS. 341 

But it deserves to be remarked, that it was comedy 
which exposed and reprobated the moral defect of the 
Euripidean manner ; and that this defect, which has 
frequently been deemed an excellence by the modern 
world, was most inexorably lashed by that same man, 
whose morality, if we take the general opinion, is held 
in the lowest estimation. 

But as we are here treating of the influence which 
poetry exercised upon the formation of Grecian morals, 
comedy should be the less passed over ; since it might 
easily be opposed to our assertions, as an example of the 
greatest immorality, both of the Greek nation at large, 
and of their poetry in particular. But it suits neither 
the purpose of the present discourse, nor our allotted time, 
to analyze the whole wonderful character of this species ; 
and we must content ourselves with vindicating, by a few 
remarks, the morality of this kind of poetry, of which 
Aristophanes is our only accredited representative. 

Above all things, we must here consider, that the ancient 
comedy, conceived in the intoxication of the Dionysiac 
festivity, was originally designed to give free scope to the 
innocent love of frolic, the gratification of which is one of 
the indispensable wants of human nature. The festival of 
Bacchus, like many festivities which sprang from the same 
want, in the vigorous Middle Ages, and were fostered 
in the bosom of the Christian church without danger, 
allowed the people from time to time a brief respite from 
the heavy yoke, with which either necessity or arbitrary 
power had burdened the work-day world ; and the 
original freedom, which no other law but the moral law 
acknowledges, under the guise of a boisterous but 
harmless joy, broke through the arbitrary barriers, which 
had been set up for the preservation of order, by the 
enlightened understanding, in the ordinary intercourse of 
life. Now, while the ancient comedy masters this passion 



342 CLASSICAL STUDIES. 

for licentious freedom, it purines it by poetry ; for it sets an 
ideal show in the place of vulgar reality, and unites what 
is lawless of itself, to the law of art ; at the same time it 
can by no means dispense with reality itself; for it must 
start from this as from a firm and stable ground, to 
soar aloft from the realm of uncouth ribaldry, into the 
high poetic sphere. 

But the wanton disposition, out of which this gayety 
springs, is purified, not by teachings, which glide over 
the inattentive ear, but by turning its exhibition into a 
sprightly play of wit, and by changing the direction which 
the love of frolic takes. Hence the wit-intoxicated muse 
of Aristophanes is chaste in the midst of licentiousness ; 
and through all the wild revel of an apparently unbridled 
wantonness, she shows on her earnest countenance the 
deep significance of her gayety. To this earnestness, 
which lies at the foundation of his character, witness is 
borne, by the precision with which, even during the 
Bacchic uproar, to which he seems to have surrendered 
himself, while his imaginative faculty creates it, this poet 
follows the narrow path of the severest principles of art 
carried out to their highest completeness; and, what is 
more important to us here, the profoundest reverence 
for exalted worth and excellence is the groundwork of 
the wanton mirth, with which he pursues frivolity and 
baseness, and where occasion offers, breaks out into scorn. 
This scorn alone would have led only to invectives and 
satires ; wit alone would have poured amusing colors 
only over the surface; but as both are here united to 
strengthen the wings of the liveliest fancy, the comic 
muse of this incomparable poet pierces into the most 
mysterious depths of life, and brings with seeming sport 
its enigmas to the light. Like the nude in the plastic 
arts, the hardy coarseness of the animal nature in comedy 
is not immoral, if it is the material of a truly intellectual 



MORAL EDUCATION OF THE GREEKS. 343 

play of art; for that alone is immoral, which, so employs 
the bestial impulse, that it sinks the mind, enslaved and 
chained, into the depth of passion ; but that which frees it 
from such bondage is not so. It is indeed true, that the 
display of the appetites, in the comedies of Aristophanes, is 
too rude for modern eyes, which do not easily forget the 
matter in the form ; to him, perhaps, it was indispensable, 
and, with his mode of treatment, certainly exempt from 
danger. He never aimed to excite impure desires. 

Now these things are not of themselves obscene, but the 
use they are put to may be so ; and the representations 
of many modern poets, who, when they have thrown the 
thin veil of decency over immorality, and introduced it 
thus disguised, into good society, under the guidance of an 
accommodating virtue, mean to pass for pure, with a keen 
and lively zest for sin, stand not only in other respects 
beneath the witty Bacchanals of Aristophanes, but are 
thoroughly immoral, enfeebling, and bewildering. As in 
sacred solemnities rude emblems were borne by honorable 
matrons, with no offence to moral feeling, since they 
were hallowed by the dignity of the festival; so the 
coarse material of the Aristophanic comedy was rendered 
harmless by daring and sprightly poetic invention; 
and as the Maenad, by the unpremeditated movements of 
her enthusiasm excited no other feeling than astonishment 
and like enthusiasm, so are we affected by the Maenad 
muse of this wonderful poet, whose soul one of the 
purest-minded sages of antiquity, who was not his 
friend, full of just admiration, praises as an eternal and 
imperishable temple of the Graces. 

Poetry, as one of the principal means of the education 
of youth, has gradually led us from the school to the 
world of men, where we are to inquire what was provided 
further to unfold, and to guard the germ of morality which 
youthful education had opened. 



344 CLASSICAL STUDIES. 

Here, first, the schools of the philosophers invite us to 
the gardens of Academus, or to the banks of the Ilissus, 
and into the halls of the gymnasia, where youths and men 
hung upon the lips of the sages, and, for the most part, 
were familiarly occupied with their teachers, often younger 
than themselves, in solving the problems of the universe. 
It is here unnecessary to consider what may have been 
accomplished by professional teaching and by precepts 
of virtue embodied in set phrases. The modern world 
possesses these means in the same degree, and perhaps 
more abundantly. But why the same effect is not 
produced, or why the schools of science in those olden 
times, dismissed their pupils not only more learned and 
better taught, but wiser and more moral, is a question 
that cannot here be passed over. 

Upon this point, the first thing to be borne in mind is, 
that many schools of philosophy were properly schools 
of culture for persons of mature age, as that of Pythagoras, 
who not only taught but educated, and educated rather 
than taught. This may be asserted, to a smaller extent, 
of some others. The scholars were not merely hearers, 
but companions of their teacher ; they lived with him, and 
were introduced by him into most of the relations of life. 
Here, too, example was stronger than precept. Rarely was 
the obscurity of his Phrontistery dearer to the philosopher 
than the light of public life ; and as living and teaching 
were in public, a connection between the two was by 
this means established, through which life became more 
instructive and instruction more lively. Instruction thus 
received, must surely have struck a deeper root, and 
have given shade and coolness to the man even amidst 
the dust and heat of public life ; and we should not be 
surprised to see, that youths and men, carried away by 
the threefold force of truth, eloquence and example, 
honored the memory of their teacher as well by the 



MORAL EDUCATION OF THE GREEKS. 345 

propagation of his principles, as by a dignified and 
virtuous life. 

By these means, and in this way, therefore, were the 
defects, which existed in the religion of antiquity remedied, 
though but partially. That this religion afforded, in its 
mythical elements, no models of morality, is obvious to 
every one ; its incorporation in human form brought it 
within the sphere of human frailty. After the divine 
nature had once been imprisoned within the limits of the 
human shape, its divinity seemed scarcely capable of 
being otherwise maintained, than, — as it was exempt from 
death, — in being released from the restraint of laws, which 
the nature of human society, even under its most imperfect 
form, necessarily requires. Furnished with overwhelming 
power, as that quality which at the beginning of civil 
society inspired the greatest respect, they could do every 
thing they pleased ; and whatever might be put forth in 
the strange fables of their intrigues, their hate and love, 
their wars and friendships, was nothing but the display of 
the surpassing power they were imagined to possess. 

To lay the burden of the moral law, to its whole 
extent, upon beings of this free nature, or to measure 
their actions by the standard of human virtues, never 
could have entered the thoughts of the untutored race ; 
and so the latter, on their part, bounded their claim to the 
privilege of those high and happy beings, to wishes alone. 
Hence the germ and centre of ancient religion was the 
recognition of the unlimited power of the divine nature, 
whose will was entitled to reign supreme over the 
weakness of man. And as this religious homage was 
thought to be violated by every species of boasting and 
arrogance, but was most strikingly displayed when 
mortals of their own accord set bounds to the exercise 
of their own power, a second attribute of the gods hence 
took its rise, the exercise of a judicial office, which 



346 



CLASSICAL STUDIES. 



assigned its punishment to arrogance, and its reward to 
sober moderation. Therefore, although the actions of 
the gods in their mythical life, furnished no models for 
imitation ; yet the idea of the Deity, even in its earlier 
and more imperfect form, was not unfitted to set limits 
to the exercise of rude violence, and consequently of 
immorality. 

But besides this, the ancient worship of the gods, 
understood as it was, exercised an influence like that of 
poetry, on the heart, animating and elevating it by a rich 
poetical spirit and by outward beauty. Irradiated with 
gladness and joy, its leading and peculiar attributes, its 
efficiency was the greater, that it had grown up on the 
native soil ; or, if transplanted thither from foreign lands, 
was thoroughly pervaded by the Hellenic life. It was 
Hellenic in all its parts, while the surrounding halo of 
antiquity alone distinguished that mythic world from the 
vulgar present, not without advantage to its peculiar 
influence on the minds of men. These gods, whose images 
adorned the temples and altars, had roamed, in primeval 
times, upon this soil and among their forefathers ; among 
them they had shared the joys of human beings ; their 
blood had mingled with the blood of the noblest families ; 
and in later ages, they took delight in the descendants, 
who had sprung from this intercourse. Their temples 
rose upon the spots which their miracles had consecrated; 
and their festivals hallowed and perpetuated the memory 
of the days when they lived and moved among the favored 
people. All Greece was like an earthly Olympus, and 
at every step, the shapes of the Immortals, in human 
beauty, and of various ages, met the sight or rose before 
the imagination of the traveller. Primeval sanctuaries, 
solemn groves, hallowed fountains, dusky grottos and sunlit 
mountain-tops, every where invited him to communion 
with them, and filled him with the thought, that men had 



MORAL EDUCATION OF THE GREEKS. 347 

reverently built their mansions within the sacred precincts 
of the gods, in order to enjoy their sheltering care and 
beneficent presence. 

Thus, by the gladsome intercourse with these children 
of religion and fantasy, the soul was uninterruptedly 
filled with poetic emotion, and the idea of the divine in it 
cherished. To discourage egotism by the thought of an 
infinitely superior awe-commanding power, by pious dread 
of the invisible witness, who leaves no crime unobserved ; 
to master rude, uncultured nature, and to raise a heart, 
attuned to festal joys, by animating cheerfulness, over 
the narrow barriers of the vulgar present, even this 
imperfect religion was completely adapted. Its efficacy 
was, moreover, heightened by the circumstance, that its 
revelations were not narrowed to a single age. The mouth 
of the gods seemed to speak to men evermore ; in dreams, 
forewarnings and omens were their voices heard; and from 
the mysterious obscurity of ancient temples, sanctified by 
faith in their divine origin, sounded forth wise instructions, 
impressive admonitions, alarming and terrific threats. For 
to imagine a vile fraud in the case of all the oracles, is 
absurd, and a suggestion of ignorance. Fraud first crept 
in when ancient faith was gradually extinguished; and 
even fraud no longer helped to give it life. Many of them 
were established by reason of some natural property of 
the spot on which they stood, and had a more beneficent 
agency upon the moral culture of the nation, the more 
directly the recollections esteemed divine, which the 
people, through them, preserved, touched upon the 
nation's inmost life. 

Another species of visible manifestations, which served, 
though in a different way, to move the heart to moral 
sensibility, was furnished by plastic art. This, also, had 
proceeded from the depths of religion ; and, by the purity, 
morality, and dignity, which shone in its works, led the 



348 CLASSICAL STUDIES. 

beholder into their depths again. If it is believed, that 
the superiority of the Greeks in the works of plastic 
art may have resulted from the finer organization of their 
senses, and especially that the finished representation of 
the human body, in beings of human and divine nature, 
can be explained by the frequent opportunities of seeing 
naked beauty, it is forgotten, that a fine organization of 
the senses, only gives pleasure to itself; and that the study 
of the nude, even with the best models of physical beauty 
at hand, can establish only a truth for the senses. 

But the art of the Greeks is never voluptuous, unless it 
be in some exceptional cases ; and it was always something 
more than true to the senses. Originally designed to 
bring Olympus down to earth, and to procure for men the 
desired sight of the immortals, without exposing them 
to peril, it was pure and chaste, from its very beginning ; 
and, even in its uncompleted works, seemed godlike 
in dignity and quiet earnestness. Matter and shape it 
borrowed from the earthly; but when a soul was breathed 
into it from the pious feelings of the maker, and it was 
pervaded by the strength of an enthusiasm which sprang 
from the same source, the dead matter shaped itself into 
a symbol of the higher nature. Waking and dreaming, 
the artists saw the image of the gods, whom they would 
fain display to the believing race ; and, while living faith 
gave a soul to the lifeless mass, they threw over the naked 
form the mysterious veil of innocence and moral purity. 
The effect of these statues corresponded to their origin. 
The moral dignity and grace, which had passed over 
from the soul of the artist into his work, communicated 
itself to the beholder; and the devotional feeling, in which 
the godlike image was conceived, kept off unholy thoughts, 
as the neighborhood of higher powers drives impure 
demons away. But that dignity and grace were never 
produced by the artful combination of the members, or 



MORAL EDUCATION OF THE GREEKS. 349 

from the comparison of the beautiful in nature, with the 
more beautiful, but like the goddess of love, born from the 
pure crystal of the sea, it is conceived in the depth of a 
chaste and harmonious soul, and from it passed into 
form, mysterious at its birth, like all that is divine, and 
no less mysterious in its harmonious effect. 

But this moral grace is spread in like measure over 
the literary works of that nation, and, blended now 
with more of earnestness, now with more of attractive 
sweetness, pervades the classic writings of their historians, 
philosophers and orators. It was the condition of every 
appearance before the public ; and when, by force of 
external influences, the morals of the nation had grown 
corrupt, and the means, which had held it erect, had lost 
their power, still the beautiful appearance of morality 
maintained itself in the symbol of decorum, and preserved 
to the nation the exquisite perception of moral beauty far 
into later times. 

This phenomenon in the history of the Greeks, the 
gradual decay of the vigor, which, in better times, had 
fostered and enlivened moral culture, leads us to speak of 
the external circumstances, from which the sources of that 
vigor had sprung in fresh exuberance. A few hints will 
here suffice. First, we will mention the simplicity of the 
life, the wants, and the occupations of antiquity, whereby 
much of the evil was avoided, which grows out of 
complicated relations of life. Even the poorer citizen did 
not find it needful to give all his strength and all his time 
to the drudgery of supporting his daily existence ; and the 
management of private and public affairs took from no 
one so entirely the enjoyment of leisure, that he was 
obliged, by outward struggles, to forego the cultivation of 
his intellectual powers and moral nature. Inasmuch as 
the State called each of its citizens, without exception, 
30 



350 CLASSICAL STUDIES. 

now to its defence, and now to the management of its 
affairs, it awakened every power, by the exhilarating 
alternation of activity and repose, and protected him 
from lethargy, without checking, by excess of burdens, 
his spontaneous vivacity. While the mechanical part of 
public business, which, in modern States, keeps great 
armies of officials busy, was comparatively insignificant 
among the ancients, the commonwealth furnished its 
rulers the amplest opportunity for intellectual activity; 
and, by the discharge of their public duties, served them 
not only as a school of civil prudence, but still more 
of righteousness, disinterestedness, and all the patriotic 
virtues. The greatest part of the services, which the 
country required, were so knit to the whole scheme of 
political life, that even the more insignificant were 
exalted by its idea ; and what the peculiarity of its faith 
accomplishes for the Christian world, — I mean the power 
to set the seal of merit even on humble services, — was 
accomplished for the ancients by the religious idea of 
country, which it was the effort of the ancient legislators, 
and the aim of many institutions among them, to kindle 
and enforce. For this idea was originally derived from 
religion, as the politics and legislation of the ancient 
States generally aimed at a religious sanctity. In the 
groves of Delphi, Lycurgus conceived the idea of his 
laws, and from the mouth of Apollo received their 
ratification ; and it was a prevalent belief, that the greatest 
and wisest legislators had cultivated an intercourse with 
the gods, and continued partially to enjoy their society. 

In this matter, also, no unworthy fraud was intended. 
Those men, who, hurried away by the greatness of 
their vocation, found the means of fulfilling its demands 
in the depth of a pious heart, surely felt within them 
the inspiration of the deity, and heard the voice of the 



MORAL EDUCATION OF THE GREEKS. 351 

immortals in the suggestions of their own minds. Was 
it strange, that the simple dignity of such a legislation 
took strong hold of the hearts of the citizens ? that every 
change in it was undertaken with dread, and the thought 
of overthrowing it was abhorred, as a crime against both 
gods and men ? This is more than all human sanction 
can effect. So long as the belief in that higher than 
human origin existed, it was not merely needful and 
wise, but even pious, to execute the law, so far as the 
law could reach; and what, under" the altered form of 
modern States, often confounds the homely understanding, 
seduces the mind of the citizen into crafty casuistry, and 
frequently freezes his heart towards the community to 
which he belongs, in ancient times could be turned into 
a healing and purifying flame. This flame of love of 
country, kindled on the altars of the country's gods, 
and cherished by the most glorious achievements in great 
perils, operated with the greater force the more it was 
compressed and concentrated by the narrow boundaries 
of the States ; and care was taken from birth to death, 
through public institutions, solemnities, and festivals, 
that the fire of patriotism should never be extinguished. 

Thus the Grecian States were founded directly on 
religion and virtue, and the paternal feeling of the 
legislators gave to the heart of the citizens the tendency 
to morality. Convinced of the inutility of many laws, 
and that " the halls should not be filled with legal tablets, 
but the soul with the image of righteousness," they sought 
to fortify in the citizen a lively sense of his dignity, and 
to guard him by this feeling, not by force and fear, against 
base deeds. Upon reverence for parents, upon the sanctity 
of the marriage tie, which severe laws watched over, 
the order of domestic life reposed; and this order was 
continued through the more extended economy of the State, 
30* 



352 CLASSICAL STUDIES. 

which was itself hut a large family of various members. 
From the paternal home, the bashful and moral youth 
passed forth, guided by his father's hand, into public life, 
which soon called him to its service, either to watch 
over the country's borders, or to defend its safety and its 
rights against foreign foes. As under the shadow of the 
paternal mansion, so in the first steps of public life, he 
submitted to the authority of his elders. This authority 
was supported by laws as well as by usage, and, like a 
living law, illuminated the path of the young along the 
way of virtue and of fame. Republican freedom, which 
stands upon severe morals, as its proper foundation, never 
took offence at the supervision of the elders, which was 
only a continuance of the father's care ; nay, it necessarily 
resulted from the spirit of ancient liberty, and the original 
formation of republican States. 

Hence, in more than one of these free States, special 
magistrates watched not only over the due observance of 
the laws, but also over morals ; as it is well known, that 
the court of the Areopagus was charged with the duty 
of keeping a strict supervision of the manner of life among 
the citizens, and of summoning those who led an unseemly 
life, before their tribunal. Such a tribunal would have 
been either without effect, or it would have become a 
source of violence on the one side, and of hypocrisy on 
the other, had it not been clothed with the sanction of 
public opinion, which was founded upon its virtue and the 
irreproachableness of its members. But in the case of 
this tribunal, this foundation was so firm and immovable, 
that a general belief prevailed, that no unworthy man 
could take part in its proceedings ; and that if such a person 
escaped the severe probation which preceded his admission, 
he would be made better, after a short time, by associating 
with the rest, and could not help becoming like them. 



MORAL EDUCATION OF THE GREEKS. 353 

Thus, also, in civil life, good and wholesome effects 
were brought to pass more by example than by- 
instruction, more by paternal influence and pious awe 
than by law and punishment. As long as this spirit 
reigned in Greece, — and never was it wholly extinguished, 
until the interference of a hostile power broke down 
the forces of domestic order, — the youth was moral and 
temperate ; and even the greater part of the older, despite 
all the inflammability of the Hellenic character, continued 
both in domestic and public life, sober, moral, and loyal 
to civil order. 

Now, if much seems to be wanting to the life of 
modern nations which the moral culture of the Greeks 
promoted, — so that, with the wholly altered formation of 
the States and their political institutions, we are hardly to 
expect, that a whole people can ever again be elevated to 
an equal rank, — yet the individual ought not therefore to 
despair of attaining for himself the exalted station which 
he admires in the ilustrious models of Grecian virtue. 
The example of the ancient world, — like every example 
of greatness and of moral excellence, wheresoever it may 
be found, — will not discourage but excite, provided we 
look into our own bosoms ; and every one may exhibit in 
himself, according to his abilities, what delights him in 
others. The great and the noble are not limited by divine 
Providence to one region of the earth, or to one period 
of time; there is no soil, sterile as it may be in other 
respects, which will not bear them; and wherever men live, 
and civil order exists, the swelling seed of morality only 
waits the fostering sunshine to unfold its germ. 

What flourished in antiquity, can even now be realized 
in individual cases ; and what in Greece proceeded from 
the commonwealth, and affected the individual, may in 
the States of modern Europe pass from the individual, 



354 CLASSICAL STUDIES. 

and act upon the commonwealth. Even now, example 
has not lost its stirring power; and as the lightning's 
flash every where seeks out and strikes its kindred 
matter, so, too, the power of the good and great goes 
from heart to heart, strengthens as it extends, and, like 
a flame, shines by diffusion, with the greater splendor. 

I cannot conclude this discourse, without expressing 
my sense of the happiness I have, in becoming a citizen 
of this land, and enjoying the favor of its enlightened 
monarch. This is the first occasion, on which I have 
had the honor to speak before this distinguished society, 
formed for the cultivation of all liberal and elegant studies ; 
and I cannot refrain from giving utterance to the delight 
I experience, when I behold the noble efforts that are here 
making, to set a glorious example to the other nations of 
Germany. The promotion of intellectual refinement ; 
the administration of justice, tempered with mercy; the 
exhibition of the patriotic virtues, by those who occupy 
the most exalted station; — these are claims to the 
admiration of the world, which can neither be denied nor 
forgotten; these are harbingers of a bright and happy 
future for science, letters, and art, and for all the highest 
interests of moral and educated man. 



NOTES 



NOTES. 



Page 33. Esaias Tegner. — This article is taken from 
Mohnike's German translation of Tegner's " Schulreden." 
The author is favorably known in this country, through some 
fine translations from his poems, by Mr. Longfellow, particularly 
an idyl in hexameter verse, entitled, " The Children of the 
Lord's Supper." Frithiof's Saga, one of his principal poems, 
has been twice translated into German, and four times into 
English. An analysis of it, accompanied with translations of a 
number of passages, may be found in the N. A. Review, No. 96. 
"The modern Scald," says Mr. Longfellow, "has written his 
name in immortal runes, not on the bark of trees alone, but on the 
mountains of his fatherland, and the cliffs that overhang the 
sea, and on the tombs of ancient heroes, whose histories are 
epic poems. Indeed, we consider the ' Legend of Frithiof,' as 
one of the most remarkable productions of the age. It is an 
epic poem, composed of a series of ballads, each describing 
some event in the hero's life, and each written in a different 
measure, according with the action described in the ballad. The 
loss of epic dignity in the poem is more than made up by the 
greater spirit of the narrative." 

Tegner was born in the parish of By, in the province of 
Warmland, Sweden, in the year 1782. In 1799, he joined the 
university of Lund. In 1812, he became professor of Greek 
in that institution. In 1824, he was appointed bishop of 
Wexio, in the Lutheran church. He is a member of the 
Swedish Academy, and of various other learned societies. He 



358 CLASSICAL STUDIES. 

was the means of releasing the literature of his country from a 
servile subjection to a false French taste. His poems are full 
of the national spirit, and are very popular. The ability with 
which he moulds the language into the various metres which he 
employs, is wonderful. He uses in Frithiof s Saga the Dactylic, 
Iambic, and Trochiac measures of the ancients with great 
facility and elegance. His writings reveal the influence of his 
Greek studies, and also an intimate acquaintance with German 
literature. Many of his smaller pieces are found in a journal, 
called the "Iduna," edited by himself, and his friend, Geijer. 
Mohnike has given admirable translations of some of his prose 
works. 

P. 45. Frederic Jacobs. — This article is taken from the 
miscellaneous writings of Jacobs. It may also be found in the 
second volume of Friedemann's Paraenesen. The estimation in 
which this veteran scholar is held by all parties in Germany, 
may be seen by the references to him on p. 31. Of his fine 
taste, his genial and truly Greek spirit, as well as of his 
accurate and extensive scholarship, the articles from his works, 
in the present volume, bear ample testimony. He is now in his 
seventy-ninth year, happy in the pursuit of his cherished 
studies, and in the intercourse of an affectionate family, and other 
friends. His father was an advocate in Gotha. He attended 
the gymnasium there in his early days, and afterwards studied 
philology and theology at Jena and Gottingen. In 1785, he 
became a teacher at the gymnasium in Gotha. Here he has 
spent his long and pleasant life, with the exception of three 
years which he passed in Munich, as teacher in the Lyceum 
there. His publications are very numerous, and have been 
received with extraordinary favor. Five volumes of his 
miscellaneous writings have been published at Leipsic. 

P. 67. Plastic Art of the Greeks. — This discourse was 
delivered by Jacobs, at a public session of the Academy of 
Sciences, at Munich, on the 12th of October, 1810, on the Saint's 
day of the Bavarian king. The occasion on which it was spoken, 
and the purpose for which it was written, justified a more 
flowing and popular style than would have been suitable to a 



NOTES. 359 

mere learned inquiry. Jacobs has brought together, with skill 
and remarkably picturesque effect, the scattered notices of 
works of plastic art in the ancient authors. His profound and 
brilliant learning, his ardent feelings, and his enthusiastic love 
of antiquity, sometimes lead him to an over-estimate of the 
ancients, as compared with the moderns, not unnatural or 
ungraceful in a man whose days and nights have been 
consumed in the study of the monuments of Grecian genius. 
The same influences occasionally give a luxuriance of figurative 
and poetical phraseology to his style, which the severer taste 
of English literature would undoubtedly censure ; though it is 
not to be denied, that here and there, occur an illustration of 
remarkable beauty, and a passage of exquisitely rhythmical 
cadence. But whatever maybe at times his faults of manner or 
style, he always writes with warmth, and from a full mind, and his 
views, if sometimes partial and extravagant, are always stamped 
with the authentic seal of diversified and elegant scholarship. 

A body of learned notes is appended to this discourse, partly 
consisting of the authorities on which his statements are founded, 
and partly of more detailed discussions of subjects dealt with, 
only in general terms, in the text. These are all of high 
interest and value, but the limits of the present volume forbid 
their insertion here. 

It may be remarked, that the editors of this volume do not 
consider themselves responsible for every sentiment which may 
be found in the articles that they have introduced. The general 
effect of a piece may be good, when particular opinions are 
erroneous. Thus Jacobs sometimes apologizes for paganism, 
and attributes good moral influences to the polytheistic mythology 
of the ancients, in a manner, and to an extent, to which the 
translators are very far from yielding their assent. But as 
this point will be discussed at greater length, in a note to the 
discourse on the moral education of the Greeks, nothing further 
need be said here, except that, in the present article, on p. 82, 
the words, " Polytheism was the religion given to the youth of 
man," seem to imply an opinion, that Polytheism was as much 
the gift of the Almighty to man, as Christianity, and differed 
from Christianity only in being an earlier and inferior gift ; an 
opinion, that can only spring from a great exaggeration of the 



360 CLASSICAL STUDIES. 

good, and a singular blindness to the evil side of Polytheism. 
This may not have been his meaning. It was, nevertheless, 
thought best not to omit, or essentially modify the language of 
the author. 

P. 102. Most of the Philological Correspondence here 
presented, is selected from the three following works, viz. 

Epistolae Bentleii, Graevii, Ruhnkenii, Wyttenbachii Selectae. 
Annotatione instruxit F. C. Kraft. Altona, 1831. 

Christian Gottfried Schiitz. Darstellung seines Lebens, 
Charakters und Verdienstes nebst einer Auswahl aus seinem 
litterarischen Briefwechsel. Herausgegeben von seinem Sohne 
F. Schiitz. Only two volumes, containing the correspondence, 
appeared in 1834 and 1835. The third volume is to contain the 
biography. 

Franz Passow's Leben und Briefe. Eingeleitet von L. 
Wachler. Herausgegeben von A. Wachler. Breslau, 1839. 

About one half of the letters are translated from the Latin, 
and the remainder, with two or three exceptions, from the 
German. Not only select letters, but select parts of letters, 
those most intimately connected with the studies and personal 
history of the authors and of their friends, have been taken, while 
the great mass of the correspondence has been passed over. 
The ordinary forms of Latin salutation have generally been 
omitted, as well as many German titles. The notes have been 
taken from such a variety of sources, that it would be impossible 
to give the original authorities in all cases. Most of them are 
compiled from various authors ; not a few are from the oral 
communications of German professors. Some, particularly 
those on French scholars, have been abridged from the 
Biographie Universelle ; others, from the various bibliographical 
works of the Germans, and the supplements to the Conversations 
Lexicon. 

J. P. D'Orville was born of French parents, at Amsterdam, 
in 1696. From the Athenaeum of his native city, he went 
to the university of Leyden, where he studied under Gronovius 
and Burmann, who predicted that he would one day rank 
among the first scholars of the age. After travelling in 
England, France, Italy, and Germany, visiting libraries and 



NOTES. 361 

collections of art, and forming many literary acquaintances, 
among whom were Bentley, Markland, Montfaucon, Muratori, 
and Fabricius, he returned with rich literary treasures and 
collations of manuscripts, with which he liberally adorned, not 
only his own editions of the classics, but those of his numerous 
friends. He had designed to lead a life of literary leisure, but 
as the Athenaeum at Amsterdam was on the decline, it was 
believed that D'Orville only could bring it again into repute, 
and he was accordingly made professor of ancient literature 
there in 1736. Here he continued to teach with great success 
during a period of six years, at the close of which he retired, 
in order to prepare editions of several works for which he had 
collected ample materials ; but he died at his country seat 
near Harlem in the midst of his labors, in 1751. He was a 
fine and skilful critic, and had tried his hand on a large number 
of authors. But his fame rests chiefly on his learned and very 
copious edition of Chariton, a work which Professor Beck, of 
Leipsic, pronounced to be indispensable to every one who would 
understand thoroughly the nature and character of the Greek 
language. Larcher bestowed upon it a similar commendation. 
But the taste of the present age would require more selection 
in the notes. His large fortune not only enabled him to< 
procure for his own use such a library as he desired, but to 
aid young men of talents, as we see in the case of Ruhnken, 
whom he took into his own house, and assisted so long as it 
was necessary. His papers and library were bought for the 
Bodleian library. 

P. 103. Wetstein is the celebrated New Testament critic 
and editor. 

Unhappy Saxony* — This was the fourth year of the Seven 
Years' War, in which most of the great powers of Europe were 
engaged, but in which Prussia, under Frederic the Great, won 
the most renown, and Saxony, from being the seat of the war, 
endured the greatest sufferings. Frederic made Dresden his 
winter-quarters. The Saxons were not only obliged to furnish 
the Prussians with supplies, but also with soldiers. The winter 
preceding the date of this letter, Leipsic alone purchased of 
Frederic a release from a distressing siege, by the payment of 
31 



362 CLASSICAL STUDIES. 

eight tons of gold! This very year, Wittenberg itself was 
bombarded, and more than one-third part of the town destroyed. 

P. 104. A florin or gulden is about forty cents. 

P. 106. Blinded, etc. — Ritter, after having proceeded too 
far in his negotiations, was prevented from going to Holland by 
two causes ; — first, the exertions of the Saxon minister to retain 
him, and secondly, the unwillingness of his wife to exchange 
her Wittenberg friends for the society of Leyden, respecting 
which some persons had made very unfavorable impressions 
upon her mind. When it is remembered that Ruhnken had, by 
Ritter's direction, proceeded so far as to hire a house for his 
friend, and to make other similar arrangements, it will not 
appear strange that he keenly felt the disappointment. 

P. 107. John Augustus Ernesti was born in Tennstaedt, 
a few miles from Erfurt, in 1707. When very young, and 
while in the school of his native place, he gave indications of his 
rare talents. In Schul-Pforta, a celebrated gymnasium near 
Naumberg, he made such progress in his studies, that the rector 
testified, in his certificate of dismission, that he had learned and 
read more than ordinary students, who are about to leave the 
aniversity. He began his university course at Wittenberg, and 
finished it at Leipsic. Theology and the classics occupied his 
chief attention. In 1731, he became conrector, under Gesner, in 
the St. Thomas Gymnasium, in Leipsic ; and succeeded him as 
rector, in 1734, when the latter was called to a professorship 
in Gottingen. He did great service to this distinguished 
gymnasium, which had successively two rectors, who were the 
first scholars of the times, and has since had Fischer, F. W. G. 
Rost, and Stallbaum. But, after his appointment in 1742, as 
professor extraordinarius of ancient literature, in the university of 
Leipsic, he contributed still more to the advancement of learning, 
by his lectures on philology , antiquities, and philosophy. In 1756, 
he was made professor of eloquence, and, three years afterwards, 
professor of theology. The former professorship he resigned 
in 1770, and devoted himself with such zeal to his theological 
studies, that he rose to the highest professorship in that 



NOTES. 363 

department. Among his many publications on theology, his 
valuable work on Interpretation is best known in this country. 
He died in 1781. In comprehensiveness of learning, particularly 
in ancient Roman literature, he was probably excelled by none 
of his contemporaries, except Ruhnken. He lectured in the 
university on eloquence, ancient history, archaeology, and the 
Greek and Roman classics. His happy method of treatment 
can be learned from his preface to Fischer's edition of Ovid. 
When the Electoral Academy of Arts was established in Leipsic, 
he took particular pains in his lectures to interest his pupils in 
the study of ancient art, but his efforts were rather directed to 
the literature of art than to art itself. He therefore entitled 
the outlines of his course of instruction, published in 1768, 
Archaeologia Literaria. Having acquired a great name by 
his editions of the classics, and by his occasional academical 
productions, he was beset by the booksellers to write prefaces 
and recommendations, or to make revisions of other men's 
works. His editions of the Clouds of Aristophanes, of Homer, 
Callimachus, Polybius, Suetonius, Tacitus, and, most of all, 
Cicero, show the extent of his scholarship. His notes to Cicero 
relate exclusively to the various readings, but in his valuable 
Clavis Ciceronia, he has collected a great amount of learning 
relating to the interpretation of his author. His labors in Greek 
philology are not equal in value to those in Latin. He is, by 
universal consent, placed among the purest and most eloquent of 
modern Latin writers. The number of his separate publications, 
large and small, amounts to 154. Most of the particulars here 
given, are drawn from Ernesti's life, by H. Doring, in his 
Gelehrte Theologen Deutschlands. 

P. 108. The expression of my regard, refers to his Epistola 
Critica to Ernesti, on Callimachus and Apollonius Rhodius. 
Ernesti was then employed in preparing his edition of 
Callimachus. To explain the allusions to this subject in the 
following letters, it may be added, that the work was completed 
in two volumes, octavo, in 1761, and was printed in Leyden. It 
contained the notes of Stephens, Vulcanius, Dacier, Gronovius, 
Richard Bentley, and Ezekiel Spanheim, together with the 
unpublished observations of Hemsterhuys and Ruhnken. 



364 CLASSICAL STUDIES. 

Bach. J. A. Bach, of Saxony, was one of the most 
accomplished scholars, not only in the civil law, but in ancient 
literature in general. As professor of legal antiquities, he 
lectured with great success in Leipsic, for six years, but died in 
1758, at the early age of 37, in consequence of his too great 
literary efforts. His Historia Jurisprudentias Romanee is still a 
standard work on the subject, and is very important to the 
classical scholar. The Acta Eruditorum is well known, as the 
first German literary journal of character. It was commenced 
in Leipsic in 1682, by the Menckes. The first series is in fifty 
quarto volumes, with a supplement of eight volumes ; the second, 
from 1732 to 1776, is in forty-three volumes, with a supplement 
of eight, and an index of six volumes. 

Horner's Library. C F. Borner, who died in 1753, at the 
age of 70, was first professor of ethics, then of Greek, and 
finally of theology in Leipsic. As first librarian, he increased 
the library at his private expense. After studying at Wittenberg 
and Leipsic, he travelled in Holland and England, with Professor 
Berger, of Wittenberg, and studied Arabic under Sykes. 
Doring affirms, that during his life, Leipsic had not a more 
learned theologian than Borner, and that but few could compare 
with him in a knowledge of antiquity, philology and history. 
He edited Luther's complete works. 

P. 110. Professor of Greek literature. — He was only assistant 
professor. In his subsequent proper professorship he was the 
successor, not of Hemsterhuys, but of Oudendorp. See page 237. 

Heusinger. — Jacob Frederic Heusinger, a most accomplished 
classical scholar, was, at the time this letter was written, 
conrector of the gymnasium of Wolfenbuttel, where there is 
a valuable library of rare books and manuscripts, of which 
Ruhnken wished to make use. It appears that Heusinger 
afterwards gratified all his wishes. Two years from this time, 
Heusinger became rector of the same gymnasium. The work 
to which he devoted his principal labor was his edition of Cicero 
de Officiis, which Avas just ready to be published when he died, 
in 1778. His son, Conrad Heusinger, who was also conrector, 
and afterwards rector in the same gymnasium, and who 
resembled his father in scholarship, undertook the publication, 



NOTES. 365 

and the work appeared in 1783. Boissonade observes, "This 
edition is a masterpiece of criticism. It is difficult to carry an 
exquisite knowledge of the language and of its most delicate 
idioms farther than the two Heusingers have done ; and 
impossible to conduct investigations with more probity, if I may 
so speak, or with more care and diligence. The preface of the 
young Heusinger is, by its pure Latinity, and by the justness 
of its observations, a worthy introduction to this excellent work. 
An editor, who should settle the text of all Cicero's works with 
such wonderful exactness would secure to himself the highest 
honor, and add, if possible, to the glory of that great writer; 
but such a work seems to be too much for any one man." — 
Biographie Universelle, vol. xx, p. 338. A new edition of this 
work of Heusinger was published by Zumpt, in 1838, with 
additions by himself. 

P. 112. C. G. Heyne. — This letter is taken from Heeren's 
Life of Heyne, and is inserted here in consequence of its 
connection with Ruhnken's correspondence. On the death of 
Sesner, the university of Gottingen applied to Ernesti to 
recommend a successor ; he replied, that there was no suitable 
person in Germany, and recommended that Ruhnken, of Leyden, 
or Saxius, of Utrecht, be called. A letter was accordingly 
addressed to Ruhnken, offering him the place. He replied, 
under date of Oct. 18, 1762, and declined the appointment ; but 
added these words : " But why look abroad for that which your 
own country can furnish? Why not make Christian Gottlob 
Heyne successor to Gesner ? — a disciple of Ernesti and a man of 
distinguished talent, who has given proof of his Latin erudition in 
bis edition of Tibullus, and of Greek, in his edition of Epictetus. 
[n my opinion, — and Hemsterhuys agrees with me in this, — he 
is the only man who can make Gesner's place good. Nor 
is there any just cause for saying, that his reputation is not 
sufficiently established. There is in this man, believe me, such 
in affluence of genius and learning, that soon the literary world 
in all Europe will be filled with his fame." Nearly a year and 
i half before the date of this letter, Ruhnken, in writing to 
Ritter, observed : " Among the number of your friends, I 
suppose, is to be reckoned Heyne, the editor of Tibullus, the 
31* 



386 CLASSICAL STUDIES. 

greatest scholar, in my judgment, who has gone out from the 
school of Ernesti, wandering about, as I hear, without a home. 
I would advise him to come to Holland, where, if his character 
corresponds with his talent and learning, I can easily procure a 
good place for him." Ernesti was employed to treat for the 
university, and to make the proposals to Heyne, to which the 
letter in the text is the reply. 

P. 113. Munchhausen, says Heeren, was the first curator, 
and, as is well known, the founder of the Gottingen university, 
his daughter, as the king (George II) himself called it, who, 
when he visited the university, drank the health of the childless 
"minister's daughter." For thirty-two years, till his death in 
1770, he watched over it with parental care, and it was through 
his means that it came to hold the first rank at that time among 
the German universities. He spared no pains to procure the 
ablest teachers, and having obtained them, furnished them with 
the greatest facilities for study ; he gave the university its 
peculiar character of practical utility, banished the old scholastic 
modes of instruction, and introduced geography, literary history 
and jurisprudence, and placed philology on its true foundation. 
The library, the object of his special care, was made up of 
useful and solid works, more regard being paid to their internal 
character than to costly ornament. The Academy of Sciences, 
the prizes, the publication of the transactions of the society, and 
the Gottingen Literary Index, owe their existence chiefly to him. 
It was the general policy which he pursued, that attracted so 
many strangers to that university. 

P. 114. Harles. — T. C. Harles, professor of poetry and 
eloquence in Erlangen, died in 1815, at the age of 77. His 
works on Greek and Roman literature were formerly much read. 

P. 115. Heumann was professor of theology in Gottingen, 
where he died in 1764. He is best known by his work on the 
history of literature. 

Peter Wesseling died the preceding year. He was born 
in Steinfurt, in Westphalia, in 1692. After teaching a short 
time in several places, he became, in 1723, professor of 



NOTES. 367 

eloquence and history at Franeker, at the same time that 
Heineccius and Venema were installed. After remaining there 
twelve years, he accepted an invitation to Utrecht, where he 
spent the rest of his life in honor and prosperity. He devoted 
himself exclusively and zealously to his literary pursuits, and 
acquired a great reputation by his editions of the Greek 
historians, particularly of Herodotus, which was regarded as 
the best edition of that historian, till Schweighaliser's work 
appeared. Ruhnken, in his Life of Hemsterhuys, observes, 
"That distinguished scholar, Peter AVesseling used freely to 
acknowledge, that Hemsterhuys was the means of putting him 
upon a right course of study. Before going to Utrecht, he was 
a colleague of Hemsterhuys, and thus became intimately 
acquainted with him ; and from that time, their friendship, 
sacred almost beyond example, continued to the end of life." 
See page 225. 

P. 116. I have been diverted, etc. — It is certainly amusing to 
learn, that such was the origin of this celebrated edition of 
Veileius Paterculus, which has been regarded by many as a 
model. Peter Burmann, the younger, nephew of the elder 
critic of the same name, was born in Amsterdam, in 1714. He 
afterwards became the successor of Wesseling, at Franeker, but 
finally resigned that place, and accepted a professorship in the 
Athenaeum at Amsterdam. He died in 1778. He was an 
excellent Latin scholar, and poet, though not equal to his uncle, 
in these respects. But in literary quarrels, he came nearer to 
the elder Burmann, as he showed in his controversies with 
Klotz and Saxius. He edited Clandius, Propertius, and many 
other works. 

P. 117. It is novo thirty years, etc. — At the time referred to, 
the gymnasium at Konigsberg was under the direction of F. A. 
Schulz, a distinguished Pietist. Indeed, the school was, from 
the beginning, under the influence of that party. Heydenreich 
and Fuhrmann were the teachers in Latin, and Stephen Schulz, 
afterwards a celebrated missionary, who, like Wolff in later 
times, travelled twenty years in all quarters of the globe, 
in behalf of the Jews, was teacher in Greek and Hebrew. 



368 CLASSICAL STUDIES. 

"Through Heydenreieh, Kant, while in the higher class, 
acquired such a passion for the Latin classics, that he learned 
by heart long passages from the poets, the philosophers, the 
orators, and the historians, which he never forgot, even in his 
old age. A common enthusiasm for ancient literature led to a 
great intimacy between him and two fellow-students, David 
Ruhnken, of Stolpe, and Martin Cunde, of Kbnigsberg, the 
former of whom, for half a century, adorned the university of 
Leyden, as the greatest philologian of his time, while the latter, 
after experiencing the vexations of a private teacher, in various 
families, finally closed his toilsome and troubled life, as rector of 
a public school in Rastenburg. They frequently met to read 
together Latin authors not included in the course of instruction, 
using the best editions, which Ruhnken, as the wealthiest of the 
number, supplied. They formed a common plan of life, making 
philology their chief study. But this plan was carried into 
execution only by the last." Schubert's Life of Kant, in the 
eleventh volume of the Leipsic edition of Kant's Works, 1842. 
The name of Kypke is well known to biblical critics. Porsch died 
as pastor in Kb'nigsberg, two years before the date of this letter. 

P. 119. C. F. Matthaei was born in Grbst, near Merseburg, 
in 1774. He was a disciple of Ernesti. During his twelve 
years' residence in Moscow, where he was at first rector of the 
two gymnasia that were connected with the university, and 
afterwards professor in the university , he made several important 
discoveries among the old Greek manuscripts with which the 
library of Moscow abounded. His critical edition of the New 
Testament, from the Moscow manuscripts, is, in many respects, 
valuable. In 1784, he returned to Germany, and became rector 
of the gymnasium in Meissen, where he died in 1811, after 
having received the appointment of professor in Wittenberg. 

P. 122. But enough of my personal history. — John Henry 
Voss, father of Henry Voss, mentioned so often in Passow's 
correspondence, was aided by the liberality of friends at 
Gottingen, for his own pecuniary resources did not furnish him 
the means of a university residence. He cultivated poetry, and 
Greek literature with a high degree of success. He attended 



NOTES. 369 

Heyne's lectures, but as the latter did not approve of the 
proceedings of the club of poets, the Hainbund, to which the 
former belonged, he excited the displeasure of Voss, even at that 
early period. Their subsequent disagreement is well known. 
On being compelled to leave Otterndorf, a town near the mouth 
of the Elbe, on account of ill health, Voss removed to Eutin, in 
Holstein, in 1782, where he continued as rector of a gymnasium 
till 1802. At this time the feeble state of his health again 
made it necessary for him to resign his charge, and he retired 
to private life in Jena. In 1805, he was invited by the duke of 
Baden to Heidelberg, where he was supported by a pension of 
1000 florins till his death, in 1826. Neither his great literary 
merits, nor his personal vanity and irritability can be denied. 

P. 123. F. A. Wolf was born in Haynrode, near Nordhausen, 
in Prussia, in 1769. He was at first educated by his father, who 
was well qualified for the office of teacher. On the father's 
removal to Nordhausen , young Wolf was sent to the gymnasium 
of that place, where he made great proficiency in his studies, 
more, however, by his own diligence than by means of public 
instruction. After he entered the university of Gottingen, he 
pursued the same method of private study, paying but little 
regard even to Heyne's lectures. In 1774, he was assistant 
teacher for a time in the gymnasium of Ilfeld, and soon 
afterwards rector in Osterode, in the Hartz Mountains. The 
next year, 1782, he accepted an invitation to Halle, where he 
laid the foundation of his literary fame, and continued to teach 
with the greatest applause till the suspension of the university 
by Napoleon, in 1806. In the following year he was invited 
to Berlin, and after the new Berlin university was founded and 
organized, according to his own views, in part, but chiefly 
according to those of the minister, von Humboldt, he was 
appointed a professor in it. But he never submitted to what 
now appeared to him the drudgery of ordinary duties ; and at 
length, after several disputes with the ministry and with the 
other professors, he retired altogether from his public labors. 
In consequence of his declining health, he set out, by medical 
advice, on a journey to the south of France, and died at 
Marseilles, in 1824.— Kraft. 



370 CLASSICAL STUDIES. 

P. 124. In respect to your argument, etc. — Several of 
Wyttenbach's letters indicate, that he was of the same opinion 
with Ruhnken. Boissonade, in the preface to his Homer, 
published in 1823, says to the same effect, "I have read the 
Prolegomena of that great critic, in which are evinced extensive 
reading, uncommon research, and great power of language. 
But while I admire the production, it fails to carry conviction to 
my mind." The reasoning of Wolf was hypothetical, founded 
on the general analogy of the progress of knowledge and of the 
arts in other nations. Professor George William Nitzsch, of 
Kiel, has taken up the subject in a very different way, in 
several elaborate Programms and in the preface to the second 
volume of his notes on the Odyssey, where he has pursued the 
investigation historically, and carried his searching criticism to 
the minutest details, and thereby produced a strong re-action in 
Germany, so that some writers speak of Wolf's views on this 
point as already " antiquated," — a convenient word to designate 
the rapid revolutions which sometimes take place in that country. 

P. 125. Spalding. — This is George L. Spalding, of Berlin, 
son of John J. Spalding, of the same place, one of the most 
celebrated theologians and classical German writers of the 
eighteenth century. George L. Spalding was born in 1762, 
in Barth, a small Prussian town, on the Baltic, where his 
father was then preacher. He studied in the Berlin gymnasium, 
which was under the charge of the celebrated Biisching. He 
then studied in Gottingen and Halle. The fortune of his father 
enabled young Spalding to continue his studies two years after 
leaving the universities, and to travel in Germany, Switzerland, 
France, England and Holland. He was made professor in one 
of the gymnasia of Berlin, in 1787 ; and in 1792 he married a 
rich widow, much older than himself, with whom he lived a very 
happy domestic life, showing a special regard to his step-son, as 
if to repay the tender love with which a step-mother had watched 
over his early years. A Leipsic bookseller wished him to revise 
the text of Quintilian for a new edition, a work which it was 
supposed would occupy him but a few years. Upon further 
study, however, it appeared that the text of his author required 
a more thorough revision, and that he needed more helps than 



NOTES. 371 

were at hand. Thus the edition of Quintilian became the labor 
of his life, and he finally died at the end of nineteen years, 
leaving the work still unfinished. On Gedike's death, the place 
of rector was offered him, but he declined it, that he might 
enjoy the more leisure for his Quintilian. In 1805, he made a 
journey to Italy, to collate a Florentine manuscript of his author. 
Towards the close of his life, he was, in spite of his unwillingness, 
attached, as counsellor, to the ministry of public instruction. 
He died very suddenly of apoplexy in 1811. In his character 
there was a singular mixture of sweetness and irritability. His 
excitable nature is manifested even in his notes to Quintilian, 
where he sometimes thoroughly chastises other commentators 
for their blunders. Spalding wrote but little, but the first three 
volumes of Quintilian, especially the third, will preserve his 
name. The fourth volume was edited by Buttmann ; and a fifth, 
a supplementary volume, by Zumpt, to which Bonnel has an 
admirable lexicon of Quintilian in a sixth volume. Few editions 
of the classics can boast of such talent and learning as this of 
Quintilian. 

P. 127. Wyttenbach alludes to Horace, Odes 3, 7, 21, and 
to Propertius, lib. 5, eleg. 11, v. 1 and 6. 

Terms of agreement, etc. — It would seem from a pretty 
extensive correspondence, that the Oxford gentlemen were not 
remarkably liberal in their dealings with Wyttenbach. He 
refers, more than once, to their reducing the size of the type, as 
if to lessen the editor's pay. He applied for a certain sum, to 
meet the expense of extra copying, which their haste required, 
that the press might not be stopped, in case of any accident 
occasioned by the war, but that a duplicate might be on hand ; 
and they granted him half the sum, for which, however, there 
may possibly have been a sufficient reason. It was afterwards 
agreed, that, for the Annotations, in a reduced type, Wyttenbach 
should receive a greater sum than a guinea a sheet, or eight 
quarto pages. But the delegates finally made a new proposal, 
namely, to pay three hundred guineas for the remainder of the 
work, without regard to the number of pages, "which 
conditions," says Wyttenbach, "I accepted, though at a 
sacrifice, that the work might not be delayed any longer." 



372 CLASSICAL STUDIES. 

P. 129. Gaisford. — In order to understand the tone of 
Wyttenbach's first letter to Gaisford, it will be necessary to 
bear in mind, that the latter was but a youth, about nineteen 
years old, and known only through his own letter, while the 
former was at the height of his reputation, being at that time 
fifty-eight years old. 

P. 132. Villoison was of a noble family, and was born at 
Corbeil, near Paris, in 1750. He pursued his studies in the 
university of Paris with such success, that he took the master's 
degree at the age of fifteen. In his essays, he always gained the 
Greek prize, except once, and then he failed only in consequence 
of his teacher's ignorance ; for having a bad Greek text given 
him to translate into Latin, he first corrected it, and then 
made his translation, a procedure which the professor did not 
comprehend, and therefore could not approve. At the age of 
nineteen, he had read all the Latin, and many of the Greek 
classics, marking and illustrating the difficult passages. He 
then studied the Arabic, Syriac, and Hebrew, without a teacher. 
The Academy of Inscriptions made a special exception to its 
rules, in order to receive him as a member, before he had 
reached the proper age. His edition of the Lexicon of 
Apollonius, prepared when he was but twenty-two years old, 
was received with great applause. In 1775, at the age of 
twenty-five, he travelled in Germany and Holland, and formed 
literary acquaintances, both in Weimar and in Leyden, which 
continued unbroken till his death. Sent by the government to 
Venice in 1781, he employed his four years' residence there, in 
examining the manuscripts in the library of St. Mark, and in the 
society of learned men, particularly that of the distinguished 
Morelli. He discovered a manuscript of the Iliad, with valuable 
scholia, and this circumstance led him to hope that he might 
find a similar one of the Odyssey, in some part of Greece. He 
therefore returned to Paris, to prepare to travel in the East. It 
was during these preparations, that he undertook, by request, 
to superintend the printing of Sainte Croix's work, on the 
Mysteries of the Ancients. Without consulting the author, he 
took the liberty to make innumerable alterations, and even 
inserted a dissertation of 120 pages, of a contrary tendency to 



NOTES. 373 

the work itself? Sainte Croix complained loudly, and all 
literary men united with him in condemning such a license. 
He accompanied the French ambassador to the Porte, in 1785, 
and visited the Grecian islands and Mount Athos, but was 
disappointed in his object, and returned the next year, bringing 
materials for a great work on Greece, which, however, never 
appeared. The French Revolution disturbed his literary 
projects. He was banished to Orleans on account of his being 
a nobleman. After his return to Paris, he was made professor 
of ancient and modern Greek, but died in 1805, at the age of 
fifty- five. His edition of Homer, published in 1788, is his great 
work. 

P. 133. Larcher. — Pierre-Henri Larcher was born in 
Dijon, in 1726. His father was connected with the department 
of finance, and the young Larcher was at first destined to some 
civil office. But strong natural inclinations early indicated that 
he had another calling. He commenced his classical studies 
in Dijon, prosecuted them still further under the Jesuits at: 
Pont-a-Mousson, and, at the age of eighteen, went to the 
College de Laon, in Paris, where, with slender means, he 
contrived to save enough of his allowance of 500 francs, to 
purchase books out of the ordinary course. His passion for the 
English, which was second only to his love of Greek, induced 
him, in 1750, to steal away to England, without the knowledge 
of his mother, who supposed he was all the while in the College 
de Laon. His earliest literary efforts were translations from the 
Greek and the English. His accurate translation of the romance 
of Chariton, with learned notes, appeared in 1763. It is in this 
work, that he speaks in the highest terms of D'Orville's edition 
of Chariton, saying, that " the observations of D'Orville ought 
to be studied by all who have a taste for Greek and Roman- 
literature." When Voltaire wrote his Philosophy of History, 
several ecclesiastics requested Larcher to reply to it, and, in 
1767, appeared his celebrated Supplement to the Philosophy of 
History, a work of extraordinary learning, and the first which 
gave the author a high public reputation, while it put the old 
philosopher into a very unphilosophical passion against the 
author. But Larcher's chief work is his translation of 
32 



374 CLASSICAL STUDIES. 

Herodotus, in nine volumes, not so much admired, however, for 
the style of the version, as for the richness of the commentary, 
and the learned discussions on geography and chronology. He 
led such a life of literary retirement, as to escape the fury of the 
Revolution. When the imperial university was founded in 
Paris, he was elected professor of Greek, a mark of honor to 
him in his old age, or rather to the university, in which he 
performed no active duties. He died in 1812. In early life he 
was an infidel, and resolved with others, to do what he could to 
destroy Christianity. But, in his last edition of Herodotus, 
having become wiser and better in his old age, he struck out all 
those passages which could be construed as unfavorable to the 
Bible. A pretty full account of the life and writings of Larcher, 
by Boissonade, may be found in the nineteenth number of the 
Classical Journal. 

When Larcher was eighty-three years of age, Wyttenbach 
wrote to him, requesting him to furnish the materials for a 
sketch of his life, and received a long letter in reply, containing 
some amusing passages, of which Wyttenbach made no public 
use. The following quotation is taken from Kraft. "You 
request me to furnish you with some particulars respecting my 
life. That is very flattering, and I know how to appreciate 
every word you shall write respecting me. As you probably 
intend to honor my memory when I am no more, the best 
encomium you can pass on me, would be to say, that I had 
discernment enough to perceive and appreciate your rare 
attainments ; that I sensibly felt the friendship with which you 
honored me ; that our friendship has never been suffered to 
languish ; that it has been maintained, with unabated warmth, 
for more than thirty-five years. This, six, is what will do me 
the most honor in the eyes of posterity. As to the rest, I am 
quite indifferent." 

P. 135. Sainte Croix was born, in Mormoiron, near 
Avignon, in the south of France, in 1746. After finishing his 
public education in the college of the Jesuits, at Grenoble, he 
was, in his youthful days, led by the circumstances of his noble 
birth, and the example of his family, to enter the army, where 
he was made a cavalry officer, as soon as he left the college. 



NOTES. 375 

His public life, his perils and losses during the revolution, 
though in the highest degree interesting, cannot be detailed 
here. His estates in the compte of Venaissin were confiscated; 
he himself escaped from prison, and fled to Paris ; his wife soon 
followed ; two of his sons perished in the bloody scenes which 
commenced in his native province. He devoted his last years 
to religion, and to literature, and found them the solace and 
support which he needed. He died in 1809. The earliest 
production of the Baron de Sainte Croix, was his Critical 
Examination of the Historians of Alexander, written when he 
was but twenty -six years of age, which won the prize in th 
Academy of Inscriptions. From this time he laid aside the 
sword, and devoted himself to letters. In 1775 and 1777, he 
gained two other prizes in the same Academy, by two essays, 
which afterwards served as the basis of his great work on the 
Secret Religion of the Ancient Nations, published in 1784, 
under the superintendence of Villoison, of which, a second 
edition, with a different title, appeared in 1817, in two volumes. 

P. 139. Luzac. — Without attempting to justify the alleged 
ingratitude of John Luzac to Ruhnken, his teacher and benefactor, 
it ought to be said, that Wyttenbach, though generally candid 
in his estimates of others, has allowed himself, in this instance, 
to do injustice to a distinguished man. Huschke, in a letter, 
dated Amsterdam, March 6, 1796, says, "Though we have 
great occasion to rejoice, that there are persons, who, in this 
political frenzy, have not lost their love of learning, we have 
equal reason to regret, that our present government carries its 
intolerance so far as to depose some of our very best teachers. 
Pestel lost his place at the very beginning. Recently, the 
learned John Luzac has been deprived of his professorship in 
Leyden. He held two professorships, that of Belgian history, 
and that of Greek literature. The Provisional Representatives 
of Holland took from him only the former ; but he was so 
high-minded, that he resigned the latter. His removal was 
occasioned by a newspaper of his in French, one of the best 
published, where he copied some articles from the French 
papers, which were not to the taste of the Directory at Paris. 
Properly speaking, it is the Directory that deposed him." 



376 CLASSICAL STUDIES. 

Korte, in his life of Wolf, vol. I, p. 314, says : " John Luzac 
was the friend of Jefferson, of Adams, and of Washington. 
After he had lost his professorship, Washington wrote to him, 
' The man who acts from principle, who never deviates from the 
path of truth, moderation, and justice, must finally succeed by 
these qualities. This, I am sure, will be the case with you, if 
it is not so already.' Luzac, as is known, complained of the 
Curators before the States General, and recovered his place." 
A few particulars may be added from the Biographie Universelle. 
Luzac, after finishing his studies under Ruhnken and Valckenaer, 
and under equally distinguished professors of law, was offered a 
professorship in Groningen, and afterwards another in Leyden, 
but he declined both, preferring to enter upon the practice of 
law. He became a contributor to the " Gazette," in 1772, and 
was sole editor after 1775. He still prosecuted the study of 
ancient literature, and held a correspondence with the most 
distinguished men of the times. The emperor Leopold, 
Poniatowski, Washington, Adams, and Jefferson, bestowed 
upon him the most flattering marks of favor. In 1785, he 
succeeded Valckenaer, as professor of Greek, in Leyden. On 
retiring from office of rector, at the end of the year, in 1795, he 
pronounced a remarkable discourse, De Socrate Cive, full of 
learning and sagacity, and dedicated it to John Adams, whose 
oldest son, John Quincy Adams, was then studying at Leyden, 
under the care of the author. This dedication is a master-piece, 
and gives evidence of the lively interest which Luzac took in the 
American struggle for liberty. He translated this discourse 
into Dutch, with additional observations, and it passed through 
two editions in the same year. But the affairs of Holland 
became more and more desperate. The government often 
applied to Luzac for advice. He could not, however, escape 
the effects of the general overthrow. This true and enlightened 
friend of liberty fell under the suspicion of the revolutionary 
party. His professorship of the history of Holland served as 
a pretext, and he was suspended from office in 1796. When 
he resigned his Greek professorship, he was then dismissed 
entirely. But he recovered his place in 1802. In the letter 
from Washington, here quoted more at length than in Korte, it 
is added, " America is under great obligations to the writings 



NOTES. 377 

and actions of such men as you." From this time, till his 
tragical death in 1807, he devoted himself with great success to 
his favorite studies. 

P. 140. Boissonade, professor of Greek in Paris, and member 
of the Academy of Inscriptions, was born in Paris, in 1774. He 
was formerly secretary of the Prefecture of the Upper Marne, 
and afterwards associate editor of the Journal des Debats, for 
which he wrote articles displaying great ability, under the 
signature of Omega. The following circumstances will serve 
to explain the allusions in this letter. Wyttenbach had written 
to Sainte Croix ; " I hear that Boissonade has edited the Heroics 
of Philostratus, and that he has sent me a copy of it. But I 
have not received it. Should it come to hand, I would give an 
account of it and of its author, in the next number of the 
Bibliotheca Critica." When Boissonade was informed of this 
by Sainte Croix, he wrote to Wyttenbach; "My Philostratus, 
most learned friend, appears before you, a nice judge, at a late 
hour. Full of defects, as it is, it would have been imprudent 
in me to send you a copy. I therefore resolved not to make 
myself known to you till I had finished another work which 
could be received with more favor. But Sainte Croix informs 
me that you have requested a copy which you might notice in 
your next number of the Bibliotheca Critica, and 1 could not do 
otherwise than comply." 

P. 141. Simon Chardon de la Rochette was born in 
1753, studied at Paris, and early took rank with the most 
eminent Greek scholars of his country. In 1773, he went to 
Italy, for the sole purpose of visiting its libraries, and formed 
the plan of editing the Greek Anthology, upon which he 
bestowed much labor and expense. He was the intimate friend 
of Villoison. The Revolution ruined his moderate fortune, and 
interrupted his literary projects. After 1796, he became a 
principal contributor to Millin's Magasin Encyclopedique ; and 
it is the collection of the valuable articles which he wrote for 
this journal, which constitutes his principal work, Melanges 
de Critique et de Philologie, in three volumes, published in 
1812. He died in 1814. Jacobs, in the preface to his 
32* 



378 CLASSICAL STUDIES. 

Delectus Epigrammatum, says that all the costly and excellent 
preparations which Rochette had made for his great work, the 
Greek Anthology, — and he had labored twenty-five years on 
it, — were, towards the close of life, and in his poverty, sold 
for a small sum ; and no one now knows what has become of 
his papers. Speaking of this "man of elegant and various 
learning," he exclaims, Utinam tamfelix quam doctus ! 

James Morelli, the celebrated librarian of Saint Mark, in 
Venice, was born in that city in 1745, and died in 1819. In 
1802, he published a volume, containing the examination and 
collation, with the texts of the better editions, of 260 Greek 
manuscripts of the Venetian library. Many of the classical 
critics of Europe, particularly Wyttenbach , Chardon Rochette, 
and Villoison, were greatly indebted to him for his friendly aid. 
At his death, he left to the library an extensive collection of 
manuscripts, which he had procured for himself, and 20,000 
pamphlets. Well might Ruhnken say of him, Morellius, quern 
fugitivorum, ut vocantur, opusculorum nullum unquamfugit. 

P. 143. Jean Baptiste Gail, was born in Paris, in 1755. 
In 1791, he was made professor of Greek in the College de 
France. In 1814, Louis XVIII appointed him superintendent 
of the Greek and Latin manuscripts of the royal library. He 
lectured for many years on the Greek language and literature. 
His most valuable labors were his French translations and his 
editions of Greek authors. His edition of Thucydides, with a 
Latin and a French version, various readings, and notes, in ten 
quarto volumes, was a work of external splendor. Wyttenbach 
could not, of course, afford to have a volume soiled, though the 
whole was a present. In a letter, dated 1810, Gail says, " I 
have sacrificed to this Thucydides from ten to twelve years' 
labor, and forty thousand francs. With the most favorable sale, 
I must lose, at least, fifteen thousand. Is the insolence of my 
adversaries to be my only reward?" He had the mortification 
to see Corai preferred to him by Napoleon, and he complained 
bitterly of literary cabals. In fact, Gail has fared much better 
in the English and Dutch reviews than elsewhere ; and he 
certainly had some singular notions, such, for example, as 
that the cities of Delphi and Olympia had only an imaginary 



NOTES. 379 

existence. He translated Matthiae's Greek Grammar into 
French. He died in 1829. 

P. 144. The Marquis Louis de Fontanes, member of the 
Institute, a poet, celebrated in the writings of Chateaubriand, 
and a statesman and orator, whom Napoleon highly honored. 
After passing through a great variety of offices, literary and 
civil, he was, in 1808, made le grand-maitre de l'Universite, or 
the minister of education for all France. 



P. 146. To -protect our library. — We have, in this instance, 
a very favorable specimen of that system of plunder, by which 
the French brought to Paris the most precious and rare books, 
manuscripts, and productions of art to be found in the libraries 
and galleries of the conquered countries. We have seen not a 
few of these, which were restored, after the battle of Leipsie, to 
the German libraries, still wearing the "red jackets," as the 
morocco binding is called, which they received in Paris. 

H. C. A. Eichstaedt, of Jena, is ranked among the most 
accomplished of modern Latin writers, and is, in other respects, 
also, a distinguished classical scholar. He was born at Ossig, 
near Meissen, in Saxony, in 1772. At the age of eleven, he 
entered the Schul-Pforta, and, at the age of fourteen, the 
university of Leipsie, where he studied under Morus, Beck, 
and Reiz. Soon after taking his degree, he became private 
teacher, and then professor extraordinarius in Leipsie. In 1795, 
he succeeded in obtaining a place in Jena, where he divided 
his time between teaching, and aiding Schutz in his Literary 
Journal. On the removal of Schutz to Halle, in 1803, 
Eichstaedt was appointed professor ordinarius of eloquence 
and poetry in Jena, where he still remains. It was he that 
commenced the New Literary Journal in Jena, in opposition 
to the Journal which Schutz had taken with him to Halle. 
Eichstaedt's paper continued till 1841. On account of its 
having too many young men among its contributors, it had been 
declining for several years. A new Jena paper, of superior 
character, has since appeared, under the auspices of Professor 
Hand, an honored rival of Eichstaedt in Latinity, as well as in 



3S0 CLASSICAL STUDIES. 

other respects. Diodorus and Lucretius are the principal, if not 
the only authors edited by Eichstaedt, and these are unfinished ; 
but he has written numerous essays of the highest character, on 
classical subjects. He is almost universally respected among 
the scholars of his own country, although it would appear from 
private correspondence, that he was somewhat trickish in his 
younger days. 

P. 147. Lewis Purgold, an excellent man, and a fine 
scholar, was several years teacher in the gymnasium at Wiborg, 
and, in 1815, was assistant in the Royal library of Berlin, where 
he died of the apoplexy, in 1821. 

G. A. F. Ast, so well known for his writings on Plato, and 
whose death we have so recently had occasion to lament, was 
born in Gotha, in 1776. After studying in the gymnasium of 
his native city, he entered the university of Jena, where he 
began to study theology, under Griesbach and Paulus, but soon 
gave himself wholly to classical literature, under Eichstaedt. 
In 1805, he was appointed professor of philology in Landshut, 
and when that university was united with Munich, in 1826, he 
was removed to the latter place, where he remained till his 
death, in 1840. His ardor for the philosophy of Schelling was 
much abated in his later years, and philology became more 
exclusively the object of his pursuit. His life of Plato, and his 
large Platonic Lexicon, are among his best productions. He is 
too often hypercritical, particularly in his earlier writings, and 
in his lexicon, finished but a short time before his death, he has 
hardly met the high expectations that were raised. 

My notes on Julian, etc. — The Critical Epistle, mentioned a 
few lines above, is the one which he wrote at Gbttingen, while 
under Heyne, and which was his principal recommendation to 
Ruhnken. Schafer added this to his edition of Julian's Eulogy 
on Constantine. To the Leipsic reprint of Wyttenbach's Morals, 
1796-99, which contained only one volume in two parts, Schafer 
added notes of his own. The Tubingen edition of Plutarch's 
complete works came out in fourteen volumes, 1791-1805, under 
Hutten's care, who, in the last seven volumes, made much use 
of Wyttenbach's labors. Schafer's moral character is such, 
that we cannot allow our impressions of him to be materially 



NOTES. 381 

changed, from the fact that he attempted to furnish the German 
student with a cheap edition of a work which few professors 
even could afford to purchase, at the enormous Oxford price. 

P. 149. This new war. — " Napoleon, in his ambition, and in 
his hostility to England, violated, in 1803, under various pretexts, 
the Luneville treaty of 1801, and the treaty of Amiens, made in 
1802, and Holland and Hanover were seized and occupied by the 
French. Thus the war, which had scarce been ended, broke 
out again with still greater violence." — Kraft. 

P. 150. Christian Daniel Beck, professor of ancient 
literature, in Leipsic, after laboring as academical teacher with 
great success for more than fifty years, died universally lamented, 
in 1832, at the age of seventy-five. He left a library of 24,000 
volumes. Though his studies were spread over a very wide 
field, they were always connected with philology, in which he 
was peculiarly at home. His influence upon the numerous 
young men, who flocked to Leipsic to enjoy his instruction, was 
very great. It was he that established, in 1785, the Philological 
Society at Leipsic, which was finally adopted and patronized 
by the government, in 1809, when its name was changed to 
Philological Seminary. His various literary productions consist 
chiefly in editions of the classics, translations, bibliographical 
works, and academical essays, technically called Programms. — 
See Passow's account of Beck, in his letters to Breem and 
Hudtwalker, where, however, it must be remembered, that if 
Beck was a little dull in his manner, Passow was as much too 
fiery, and his estimate is, therefore, to be received with a little 
allowance. 

P. 151. You surely had good reason for declining. — " Soon 
after the appearance of the Prolegomena (1795), Wolf received, 
through Ruhnken's influence, a call to the university of Leyden, 
in Luzac's place. He was much inclined to accept the proposal, 
and took preliminary measures for it. The facilities which 
Leyden offered to the philologist, and the literary society there, 
held out great inducements. According to his usual custom, he 
consulted his friends on the subject." — Korte's Life of Wolf. 



3S2 CLASSICAL STUDIES. 

William von Humboldt dissuaded "Wolf, urging the insecurity 
of every thing in Holland, at that time of disorder. J. H. Voss 
thought he had better remain where he was. Spalding advised 
him to accept the appointment. He finally wrote a reply to 
Ruhnken, declining the offer, of which the following is the 
substance, as given by Korte : "I am here surrounded with 
numerous friends, and have many hearers ; and am, besides, 
nearly the only one in this place to sustain our studies. I 
prefer teaching, to writing for the press. I have here a sure 
support, which is adequate to my wants ; for one can live here, if 
he be economical, very respectably on one thousand rix dollars. 
Finally, my office imposes on me no duty to which I am adverse. 
* * The professorship of eloquence, which I hold, is nothing. 
Halle eloquence is a ludicrous sort of thing ; it never has a voice, 
except when a king is married or dies. I have never delivered 
an oration here, except on the death of Frederic the Great." 

P. 157. And the commentary. — The commentary was never 
published. 

P. 158. Augustus Matthiae was born in Gbttingen, in 1769. 
He commenced his studies in the gymnasium of the same place, 
and then prosecuted them in the university. His principal 
teacher was Heyne, in whose Philological Seminary he took an 
active part. In addition to philology, he studied zealously the 
philosophy of Kant. After spending nearly ten years as a 
private tutor in Amsterdam, where he formed the acquaintance of 
Wyttenbach, de Bosch, and Huschke, he returned to Germany, 
and through Heyne's recommendation, became teacher in a 
new Institution in the Belvidere Palace at Weimar ; and on its 
extinction, in 1801, he was appointed rector of the gymnasium 
at Altenburg, where, for more than thirty years, he distinguished 
himself as a successful teacher and author. His knowledge 
of languages was not limited to those of the ancient world ; he 
was well acquainted with the Dutch, the English, the French, 
and the Italian. Besides his Greek Grammar, which has been 
translated into English, French, and Italian, he has published 
an edition of Euripides, in nine volumes, Cicero's Select 
Orations, and his Select Epistles, Sketch of Greek and Roman 



NOTES. 383 

Literature, and Miscellaneous Writings, Latin and German, 
published in 1833. The last is a volume containing thirty- 
addresses and articles relating mostly to classical studies, and 
the mode of instruction in gymnasia. 

P. 160. Immanuel G. Huschke was born in Greussen, near 
Nordhausen, in 1761. He studied at Schul-Pforta, where he 
laid the foundation of an exquisite classical scholarship. From 
this celebrated gymnasium he went to the Jena university, to 
study theology ; but, like his friend and associate Jacobs, he was 
led by his tastes to pursue classical literature exclusively. After 
passing a few weeks at Gbttingen, on the completion of his 
university course, he went to Amsterdam, as a private teacher, 
and made the acquaintance of de Bosch, van Santen, Ruhnken, 
and, to some little extent, of Wyttenbach He manifested an 
early desire to become a professor in Leyden, but Ruhnken did not 
encourage the project. In 1795, when Luzac was displaced, van 
Santen procured the appointment of Huschke in his place. The 
latter resigned his post as private teacher, and began to prepare 
himself to enter upon the duties of his new office. But as Luzac 
commenced a suit against the curators, Huschke was kept from 
his place while the case was pending, and became melancholy, 
and returned to Germany. Here he remained out of employ, 
residing a part of the time at Gbttingen, and prosecuting his 
studies there, when, in 1806, he was appointed professor in 
the university of Rostock, where he spent the remainder of his 
days, and where he died in 1827. After Luzac's death, in 1807, 
Huschke was again invited to a professorship in Leyden ; but 
he did not accept it, and it was given to Creuzer. Huschke's 
exquisite scholarship, his delicate health, his nervous, melancholy 
temperament, rendered him a very interesting and yet somewhat 
troublesome friend. As a critic, he was highly prized. Jacobs, 
speaking of a journey which he made to Gbttingen, in 1800, 
in company with Bbttiger, says, " Huschke, whom I had not 
met for ten years, was at this time in Gbttingen. Some little 
misunderstanding which had arisen between us, was, upon our 
seeing each other, removed by a few words. Huschke was 
naturally suspicious, and very sensitive. He was afflicted with 
a hypochondria, which, in many periods of his life, produced a 



384 CLASSICAL STUDIES. 

settled melancholy." In two letters written from Rostock to 
Schiitz, in 1808, Huschke says : "Probably you, like the Rostock 
gentlemen, think I have given up all idea of going to Leyden. 
I did, indeed, long ago decline the appointment, and considered 
the matter as settled. But in February last I received new and 
more favorable proposals. The curators, however, have their 
hands very much tied ; they cannot, as formerly, do what they 
would. Every thing now depends on the king. I have made 
conditions, and engaged to go, if they shall be accepted." " I 
had gone pretty far in negotiating with the curators of Leyden ; 
but difficulties arise again. Besides the objections already 
mentioned to you, my health suggests another. I found the 
climate unfavorable to me, even in my younger days; and as I 
am now infirm in a place far more salubrious than that, I fear I 
should be still worse off there." 

Jerome de Bosch, a native of Amsterdam, was born in 1740. 
He early distinguished himself, under the instruction of the 
younger Burmann, in Latin poetry. These fugitive pieces, 
which are very elegant for their pure Latin diction, were 
collected, and published, in two volumes, in 1803 and 1808. 
His principal literary production, however, was his Greek 
Anthology, with the Latin Version of Hugo Grotius, in four 
volumes, quarto. A fifth volume, which was ready for the 
press when he died, in 1811, was published by van Lennep. 
The first three volumes contain the text, and the masterly 
translation of Grotius, in Latin verse, corresponding with the 
Greek, verse for verse, and measure for measure. The notes 
which the editor added to the unpublished observations of 
Salmasius, in the fourth volume, gave him a distinguished place 
among Greek scholars. In 1800, he was appointed curator of 
the university of Leyden, and, in that important office, did all in 
his power to repair the injury done to the university by the 
revolution of 1795. His library was, in classical literature, 
especially in the princeps editions, as well as in splendor of 
binding, one of the richest private libraries in Europe. Jacobs, 
after speaking of the aid which de Bosch had given him in his 
Anthology, goes on to say: "And yet we were rivals in this 
work, and I had found fault with some things, in my review of 
his edition. But envy and hatred were far from this excellent 



NOTES. 385 

man, who thought himself sufficiently rewarded for his labor, by 
the fame which he acquired in bringing before the public, in a 
worthy form, the Latin version of his great countryman. A 
practised Latin poet himself, he was peculiarly qualified to 
appreciate the labors of Grotius." David Jacob van Lennep, 
in his eulogy, pronounced in 1817, commends the generous 
and humane character of de Bosch, as worthy of the imitation 
of all scholars. "As in his private and social life," says his 
eulogist, "so in his writings, he abstained from all quarrelling, 
freely expressing his own opinions, but at the same time 
courteous to all who differed from him." He used to urge 
young men to do the same, and always held up Heyne to them, 
as a model in this respect. 

P. 161. Wytteneach and Creuzer. — It will be recollected, 
that both these distinguished scholars studied at Marburg for a 
time. Bang was the first teacher of Creuzer. In the university 
of Jena, which the latter subsequently entered, Schiitz and 
Griesbach were his principal teachers. When he became a 
private tutor in Leipsic, he had opportunity to attend the lectures 
of Beck and Hermann. Savigny, recently professor of law in 
the Berlin university, and one of the most learned civilians of the 
age, was formerly professor in Marburg, and it was through his 
influence that Creuze^ was appointed professor there. The 
change in the government of Hesse, here referred to, is that 
which was occasioned by its being incorporated into the new 
kingdom of Westphalia, under Jerome Bonaparte. All the 
universities in the kingdom, namely, Gottingen, Halle, Marburg, 
Helmst'adt, and Rinteln, languished, and the last two were soon 
afterwards abolished. The university funds were needed to 
raise armies. 

P. 164. George Henry Moser, rector of the gymnasium 
in Ulm a disciple of Creuzer, and distinguished in Roman 
literature, was born in 1780. From 1807 to 1809, he was a 
member of the Philological Seminary in Heidelberg. He 
became teacher in Ulm, in 1810, on his return from Holland, 
and was made rector in 1826. He has published learned 
editions of several of the philosophical treatises of Cicero. 
33 



386 CLASSICAL STUDIES. 

P. 166. John Christopher Adelung, who did for the 
lexicography of the German language, what learned academies 
have done for others, was born in a little village near Anklam, 
in Pomerania, in 1732. He commenced his studies in this town, 
then entered the once celebrated, but now extinct, classical school 
at Klosterbergen, near Magdeburg, from which he went to the 
university of Halle. He was, for a time, teacher in Erfurt, 
but left that place, on account of differences of religious opinion, 
in 1761, and went to Leipsic, where, as conrector, translator, 
and literary drudge, he remained in poverty till 1787, when, on 
becoming known as the author of the German Dictionary, he 
was made librarian in Dresden, where he remained till his death, 
in 1806. His lexicon is, for the time when it was written, an 
excellent work. A good Mithridates could not be produced in 
his day. His grammars are inferior to his lexicon. He used 
to say, that his writing-desk was his wife, and the seventy 
volumes from his own pen were his children. He had a 
robust constitution, and studied fourteen hours a day. Though 
a virtuous and temperate man, in the old and easy sense of that 
term, he kept a Bibliotheca Selectissima, as he termed it, in 
which were to be found forty varieties of wine. 

Christian Godfrey Schutz, a very excellent scholar in 
the history of literature, and a distinguished philologist, was 
born in 1747, in Dederstaedt, in the Mansfeld territories. He 
studied with great success in the Latin school of the Orphan 
house, and then in the university of Halle, where he took the 
degree of Doctor of Philosophy, at the age of twenty. 
Notwithstanding his poverty, he resolved to remain at the 
university after his course of study was finished. At the 
suggestion, however, of Semler, who had directed his studies, 
he accepted a place as teacher in the Knight's Academy at 
Brandenburg ; but he was recalled to Halle within a year, as 
Inspector, or assistant of the Theological Seminary, of which 
Semler was the Director. "Since 1757," says Korte, in his 
Life of Wolf, "when the seminary came under Semler 's 
direction, ancient literature was encouraged. He labored to 
raise up, through that institution, learned theologians, by 
lending his influence to classical philology, and providing for 
lectures on Greek and Roman authors, to be given by the 



NOTES. 387 

Inspector. Schirach first held these lectures, from 1765 to 
1769, who was followed, from 1769 to 1779, by the excellent 
Schiitz. The latter held five or six lectures a week on 
philology, to which not only the members of the seminary, but 
the students of the university generally had free access. These 
lectures had such an effect, that other professors lectured, also, 
on classical literature. He was made professor ordinarius, in 
1776, but went three years after to Jena, as professor of 
eloquence. His loss in Halle was deeply felt. In Jena, he 
delivered lectures on the history of literature, with unexampled 
popularity. In 1785, he, Wieland, and Bertuch established the 
Literary Journal, which was, for a long series of years, the best 
literary paper in Europe. Wieland soon retired from it. In 
1804, Schiitz received two invitations, with the most flattering 
proposals, — the one from the king of Bavaria, to go to 
Wiirzburg, the other from the king of Prussia, to go to Halle, 
as professor of philosophy and eloquence. He preferred the 
latter, and accordingly removed with his journal to Halle. 
While he and Ersch, now associate editor, conducted this paper 
in Halle, Eichstaedt established a new one in Jena, in its place. 
In the meantime, a Philological Seminary had sprung up in 
Halle, under Wolf, and, on his being transferred, in 1807, to 
Berlin, Schiitz took his place. He was one of that class of 
philologists who treat the study of the languages with taste ; he 
diffused, by his lectures and his writings, that enthusiasm for 
classical studies, which produced such scholars as Jacobs and 
Creuzer. The fiftieth anniversary after his master's degree, 
was celebrated September 3, 1818, which was a holiday for all 
Halle, for every body, young and old, knew and honored the 
good old Schiitz, as they were accustomed to call him." He 
sold his right in the journal in 1824, but continued to hold the 
place of senior editor till his death, in 1832. His editions of 
Cicero and of iEschylus are his best critical productions. 
Bullmann, in his History of the University of Halle, says, "He 
was not more distinguished for his learning than for his amiable 
character. He is one of the most humane philologists known 
in history, and expressed the deepest regret when he saw the 
inhumanity of some professed Humanists." Wyttenbach used 



388 CLASSICAL STUDIES. 

to say that he was the only German who could translate Kant's 
works into Latin. 

P. 167. John Augustus Apel, a writer of considerable 
merit, known as an opponent of Hermann, on the subject of 
Greek metre, and as an imitator of the ancient Greek tragedies, 
studied for the law in Leipsic and Wittenberg, and afterwards 
became a senator in Leipsic ; but he devoted his restless life to 
various kinds of light literature, and wrote many reviews. He 
died in 1818, at the age of forty-five. 

Rebound. — A call to another university is generally the 
occasion of increasing a valuable professor's salary, if he 
remain. 

P. 168. This Locella.— "The Baron A. M. de Locella 
prepared and published a new edition of Xenophon, at Vienna, 
in 1796. This is the first critical edition. Not only were the 
numerous errors of former editions corrected, but many chasms, 
occasioned by carelessness, were filled. Where the manuscript 
itself is deficient, the conjectures of Hemsterhuys, Abresch and 
D'Orville and others from Bast, were adopted. Bast had in his 
youth made preparation to edit Xenophon. He now gave up 
his papers to Locella, which contain the first specimens of his 
extraordinary penetration and critical tact. Locella made a 
new translation, and added a commentary, which embraces all 
the observations of the above-mentioned scholars." — Scholl. 

" G. Bodoni, of Parma, born in 1740, is the man who, by his 
talent, knowledge, taste and industry, raised the art of printing 
to an elevation reached by none of his predecessors. In simple 
regularity he sought and found the true principle of beauty, both 
in the form of the type and in the arrangement of the paragraphs. 
The color of the ink, the quality of the paper, and the evenness 
of the impression, left nothing to be desired ; and in this respect 
he is not excelled either by his contemporaries, or the latest 
typographers of England and France. That which crowns 
all his works, is the Lord's Prayer in 155 languages, and in 
corresponding types. He died in 1813." — Fallcenstein's History 
of the Art of Printing, Leipsic, 1840. 



P. 169. TJie edition of Heindorf and Bockh. — The projected 
edition of Plato with a new translation, commentary and scholia, 
by Bast, Heindorf, and Bockh, failed in consequence of the 
death of the first two. Their rich materials passed into the 
hands of Weigel, who undertook to complete the unfinished 
work, but who finally preferred to give them over to Stallbaum, 
and the reader need not be told that no better disposition could 
have been made of them. 

P. 171. Philological Seminary. — As the philological 
professorships grew out of the theological, so philological 
seminaries, about the time of Heyne and Wolf, appear to have 
originated in the theological seminaries. Most of the universities 
now have such institutions. Though the regulations of these 
seminaries vary in the different universities, their design and 
general character are the same. The object of a philological 
seminary is to educate teachers of the Latin and Greek languages 
for the higher classes in the gymnasia, and for the universities. 
The director of the Seminary, generally the ablest professor, 
selects, after a rigid examination, about twelve of the maturest 
scholars and most promising young men of his department, to 
constitute the seminary. Those who are so fortunate as to gain 
admittance, receive an annual allowance of about fifty rix dollars. 
These institutions, having the nature of teachers' seminaries, 
the exercises, held once a week, are conducted chiefly by the 
members, under the supervision of the director. Each member 
takes his turn in reading an elaborate critical interpretation of 
some Latin or Greek author, which is rigidly criticised by the 
other members, and finally by the director, who also decides 
upon the criticisms of the others. In some universities the 
seminaries are divided into two branches, Latin and Greek, with 
two directors. See Passow's Letters, pp. 198, 208. 

P. 172. K. A. Bottiger, so well known for his admirable 
writings on ancient art, manners and mythology, was born in 1760. 
He studied at Schul-Pforta, and afterwards in Leipsic, under 
Reiz and Morus. In 1784, he was made rector of a gymnasium 
in Guben. Through Herder's agency, he was brought to 
33* 



390 CLASSICAL STUDIES. 

Weimar, where he was director of the gymnasium from 1791 to 
1804, when he was called to Dresden, as superintendent of the 
Page Institute. In 1814, this was merged in another institution, 
and Bb'ttiger was appointed director of the Knight's Academy, 
and superintendent of the Dresden gallery of antiques. He 
died in 1836. His numerous writings consist mostly of essays, 
reviews, and small treatises. His Sabina, or morning scenes in 
the chamber of a Roman lady, is an invaluable little volume to 
the classical scholar. His Latin and smaller German writings 
have been recently collected and are now publishing under the 
care of Julius Sillig. 

Jahn, in his Annals of Philology, in noticing the Biographical 
Sketch of Bottiger, by his son, observes : " The biographer has 
given particular prominence and effect to his description of 
Bottiger's literary life and character. In Guben and Bautzen, 
he appears as an earnest, practical schoolman, pursuing his 
philological studies in the manner of Heyne, and the men of that 
day, and devoting special attention to the art of teaching, and 
the best mode of treating the languages in schools. In Weimar, 
on the contrary, his labors took a higher direction, and his 
intimacy with Schiller, Herder, Wieland, Gothe, Kotzebue, 
Meyer, and others, turned his attention from the art of teaching 
to elegant literature and ancient art. The description of this 
period is very full, and the reader feels a growing interest as 
Bb'ttiger becomes a connoisseur, a contributor to journals on 
elegant literature, and annuals, and a correspondent, furnishing 
literary intelligence to journals both at home and abroad, and 
skilfully finding his way through literary and court intrigues, 
complaisant to all, though often treated ill, and still attached to 
such a life, with all its evils. His talent for elegant literature 
and art was most fully brought out in Dresden, where he 
gradually retired from the school, and directed his attention 
more and more to the public, holding popular lectures on ancient 
art, mythology, and classical literature, throwing out his views 
in articles for every literary journal he could find, explaining to 
visitors the remains of ancient art in the Dresden galleries, and 
participating in all that was interesting in literature, or in the 
higher circles of social life." 



NOTES. 39 1 

P. 173. Thirty-eight wagons. — Saxony wished to be neutral 
in the war of 1806, between Prussia and France, but was 
compelled, by peculiar circumstances, to join Prussia. But 
within thirteen days after war was declared, the Prussian army 
was annihilated. The Saxons, who were also conquered in the 
battle of Jena, received from Napoleon the promise of neutrality, 
on condition they would join the Confederation of the Rhine ; 
and the condition was accepted. And yet, four days after the 
battle, Davoust entered Leipsic with 40,000 men, and the next 
day, the city was called upon to deliver up all the English wares 
and money, and all its military stores. Six days later, 45,000 
yards of fine, and 300,000 yards of ordinary cloth, 150,000 pairs 
of shoes, and large sums of money were demanded ; and then, 
to crown the whole, Napoleon laid a contribution of 7,053,358 
rix dollars upon Saxony, of which the Elector himself assumed 
one-third, in order to relieve his people. 

The restoration of the Halle university. — The university of 
Halle was in a flourishing condition, under the fostering care of 
the King of Prussia, when the war between France and Prussia 
broke out, in 1806. Three days after the battle of Jena, which 
was on the fourteenth of October, 1806, Halle fell into the hands 
of the French conqueror. Bernadotte, who had been waited on 
by a committee of the university, had issued a proclamation for the 
protection of the university, but before it could be printed and 
distributed, Napoleon arrived, who, at first, promised to confirm 
the proclamation, but, being irritated by some mischievous 
newspaper articles, the next morning, Oct. 20, he gave out his 
imperial mandate, that the university should be suspended, and 
that all the students, who were not natives of Halle, should 
leave the town within twenty-four hours. The salaries of all 
the professors, except the botanist, Sprengel, were stopped. 
May 18, 1807, Dr. Niemeyer and four other professors, were 
seized and carried to France, without accusation or explanation ; 
but this very circumstance placed Niemeyer where he could use 
his great personal influence successfully for the restoration of the 
university. By the treaty of Tilsit, Halle was included in the 
new Westphalian kingdom, under Jerome Bonaparte, and the 
new government promised that the pay of the professors should 
be resumed on and after the first of October. On the twenty-third 



392 



CLASSICAL STUDIES. 



of December, Niemeyer, who had returned to Halle, and two 
other professors, were sent out by the city and the university, to 
Cassel, to take the oath of allegiance to the young king. It 
was on this occasion, that Niemeyer made so favorable an 
impression, in an address to Jerome, that the latter promised to 
be the guardian and patron of the university. Proclamation 
was accordingly made, that the university of Halle be re-opened 
in the spring of 1808. Niemeyer was made chancellor and 
perpetual rector, as a reward for his extraordinary services. 
But Nb'sselt had died ; Wolf and Schleiermacher had gone to 
Berlin, where the loss of Halle was to be made up by a new 
university ; Jacobs, to Charcow ; and other professors had gone 
to other places. Schlitz took Wolfs place. In 1809, the new 
and weak Westphalian government, in which J. Von Miiller, as 
minister of education, had, up to the time of his recent death, 
done all in his power for the university, found it necessary to 
suspend the universities of Helmstadt and Rinteln, and the 
Psedagogium of Klosterbergen, and to apply all the funds to 
the support of Gottingen, Halle, and Marburg. In 1810, 
Wegscheider, formerly of Rinteln, and Gesenius, formerly 
teacher in the gymnasium at Heilgenstadt, were added to the 
theological faculty in Halle. The number of the students was, 
at this time, less than 200. In 1805, it was 937. Napoleon, in 
his journey from Magdeburg to Dresden, July 13, 1813, stopped 
at Halle; and, in his exasperation, threatened to drive away all 
the professors, and burn the city. Within two days after, the 
university was suspended a second time, by an order from 
Cassel, the Westphalian capital. The funds were to be directed 
to the other universities ; the professors were put upon half-pay, 
and promised a place elsewhere. But on the eighteenth of 
October, the battle of Leipsic put an end to these troubles ; 
and Halle finally reverted to the Prussian government. As a 
Prussian university, it was restored in August, 1814, after the 
professors had, for nearly one term, voluntarily opened their 
courses of lectures. All the arrearages of their salaries were 
generously paid. Most of the students, however, joined the 
army against Napoleon the next year. On the twelfth of April, 
1815, the Wittenberg university, which had hitherto belonged 
to Saxony, but was now included in the Prussian territory, 



NOTES. 393 

was united with the Halle university. While a part of the 
professors went to Leipsic, as the only remaining university of 
the kingdom of Saxony, others went to Halle. The students 
belonging to the newly-acquired Prussian province, would, of 
course, resort to a Prussian university. 

P. 174. The universities of the new kingdom. — The fate of 
the Helmstadt university can be best learned from a few extracts 
of Professor Bruns's correspondence, which, besides, give a lively 
picture of the times. Under date of Helmstadt, April 20, 1808, 
he writes to Schiitz ; " Our troubles, arising from non-payment 
of our salaries, are not yet ended. We are still more disturbed 
by the latest, though unofficial, advices from Cassel. The Julia 
Carolina (university) is perhaps already sentenced to death. We 
expect soon to know the certainty. I, as owner of a large house, 
from the room-rents of which I derive a part of my support, 
shall, in that case, lose almost the entire value of my estate. 
His Westphalian Majesty has, at the very commencement of his 
reign, required great sacrifices of his subjects. They will be 
sensibly felt by those who have to make them. A great change, 
as I think, is about to come over our literature and all our literary 
institutions. Perhaps the time is not distant, when men shall 
think that the best way to honor Napoleon for his great deeds 
is to obliterate the memory of all that was done before him. 
Then farewell history, ancient languages, criticism and philology. 
Such times I never expected to see. Henceforth we shall be 
more the property of Napoleon than of Jerome, and the former 
consequently rule over us. He seizes upon all the royal domains, 
and cloister funds." Again, Helmstadt, Jan. 28, 1809, he writes ; 
' ' In Cassel men are all the while studying how many universities 
and gymnasia can in the most advantageous way be abolished, 
and their funds be pocketed by the government, and Helmstadt has 
not many advocates there. It would be much easier to squeeze 
the universities together, if our houses could be shoved along at 
the same time. I cannot, however, indulge in pleasing hopes 
for learning in this kingdom, though Johannes Von Miiller and 
Wolfradt will do all they can." Helmstadt, Jan. 23, 1810. 
" I could not answer your kind letter, my dear friend, before 
receiving from Cassel a decision in regard to my destination. 



394 CLASSICAL STUDIES. 

This has finally reached me by the last mail ; and as I was called 
upon to say whether a removal to Halle would be acceptable to 
me, I have replied to the minister of education that, on many 
accounts, it would be very agreeable to me. I say the same to 
you ; and as it is now decided in the councils of the gods that 
Julia Carolina is to be stricken from the list of the universities, 
I regard it as a happy circumstance, that I can hereafter honor 
you and other worthy men in Halle as my colleagues. * * * 
Five professors will go to Halle ; three, and perhaps four, to 
Gb'ttingen." The university of Rinteln shared the same fate. 

To lay upon the altar. — Saxony, with a modification of the 
treaty of 1807, ceded, March 19, 1808, to the new kingdom of 
Westphalia, which Napoleon had founded for Jerome, the 
bailiwick of Gommern, with Ranis and Elbenau ; the county 
of Barby ; a partial claim on Treffurt ; the prefecture of Dorla ; 
and, finally, the Mansfeld territories. 

P. 175. Professor Jacob. — This is Lewis Henry Von Jacob, 
father of a distinguished lady, now resident in the United States, 
known in literature, under the signature of Talvj, a word made 
up of the initials of her maiden name. He was born in Wottin, 
in 1759, and died in 1827. "He had commenced his career in 
our city with honor, as academical teacher, and author ; he was, 
in 1789, made professor extraordinarius, and, in 1791, professor 
ordinarius of philosophy in Halle. In 1807, at the time of the 
Westphalian government, he went to Charcow, as professor of 
political economy, and was afterwards called to Petersburg, as 
counsellor of state, and received a title and an estate. After 
several years' service in the Russian government, he returned, 
in 1816, to his former place in Halle, and devoted himself, with 
new energy, to the duties of his professorship." — Bullmann's 
History of the University of Halle, p. 269. 

P. 176. His triple mound. — According to Wieland's own 
request, his remains were placed in one grave, with those of his 
wife, and of Sophia Brentano. A simple monument is placed 
over it, with an inscription written by himself. 

In exile in Schmiedeberg. — " The university of Wittenberg, 
the venerable mother of the Reformation, was obliged, hi 1813, 



NOTES. 395 

to yield to arms, and emigrated, in part, to the neighboring 
village of Schmiedeberg." — C. W. Bottiger , s History of Saxony. 

P. 177. Wieland's translation of Cicero. — Schtitz had 
recently completed his valuable edition of Cicero's Letters, 
and was well qualified to put the finishing hand to Wieland's 
translation. He did not, however, undertake it. The work 
was finished by F. D. Grater, of Zurich. 

Antoine Bernard Caillard was attached to the French 
ministry, in various capacities, at Parma, Cassel, Copenhagen, 
Petersburg, etc. In 1795, he was minister plenipotentiary at 
the court of Berlin. He died in 1807. He was a lover of 
literature, and possessed a magnificent library. 

P. 178. Auein Louis Millin was a man of various and 
extensive, though not of profound learning. His Magasin 
Encyclopedique, a journal commenced in 1792, and conducted 
by him from 1795 to 1816, gives one of the best views of the 
entire literature of Europe during that period. His Galerie 
Mythologique is so valuable, that Tblken translated it into 
German, where it has passed through two editions, the last in 
1836. The 190 plates are accurate copies from ancient works 
of art. C. 0. Miiller says, "his labors, in clear and popular 
representations of ancient art, are invaluable." He died in 1818. 

Porte du Theil was a scholar of great and various activity, 
both as an historical collector, and as a classical philologist. He 
translated ^Eschylus, and in connection with Rochefort published 
a new and improved edition of Brumoy's Theatre des Grecs. 
The translation of Strabo, by du Theil and Corai, with notes by 
Gosselin, in five volumes, is a valuable work. Du Theil died 
in 1815, at the age of seventy-three. 

P. 179. Stephen Clavier was born in Lyons, in 1762. He 
early gave himself to the study of the languages, then entered 
upon the profession of law, and became judge of a criminal court, 
and finally member of the Academy of Inscriptions. His edition 
of Apollodorus, with a French translation and notes, is said to 
be excellent, as also his edition of Pausanias, in seven volumes, 
particularly the exact French translation, the greater part of 



396 CLASSICAL STUDIES. 

which was printed under Corai's care, after the author's death, 
in 1814. 

Pascal F. J. Gosselin, associate editor of the Journal des 
Savans, after 1816, and associate keeper of the Cabinet of Medals 
with Millin, at Paris, was born at Lille, in 1751. He travelled 
in France, Switzerland, Italy and Spain, eight years, for the 
purpose of perfecting his knowledge of ancient geography. His 
t wo greatest works relate to ancient geography. A widower, 
without children, he spent most of his later years in solitary 
study, at Montmorency. He died in 1830. 

P. 181. J. A. Martini-Laguna was born in Zwickau, in 
1755. He lived alternately on his estate in his native town and 
in Dresden, and devoted his time to private study. Of his 
projected work on the epistles of Cicero and other Latin writers, 
only one volume appeared. His library and most of his papers 
perished in the flames. He was an elegant scholar. He died 
in 1824. 

P. 183. Long and circuitous. — The encouragements given 
to learning were so great in Saxony, that the number of its 
students was then, and is now, too large for the demands of the 
State. Consequently, there are so many men, both young and 
old, waiting for places, that Lipsia vult expectari has long been 
a proverb. 

P. 185. Gruber. — This is the individual who is universally 
known as one of the editors of Ersch and Gruber's Encyclopedia, 
a gigantic production, being not only the most extensive, but the 
most scientific which the world has ever seen. It is an unfinished 
work, still in progress, under Gruber, Hoffmann, Meyer, and 
Kamtz. Ersch died in 1826. Gruber was born in Naumberg, 
in 1774, studied in the gymnasium of that place, and in 1797 
entered the university of Leipsic. After a short residence in 
Prussia, as family tutor, he returned to Leipsic, and commenced 
his career as a writer. In 1803, he became private teaeher in 
the university of Jena ; afterwards he seems to have lived as an 
author, for a time, in Weimar. Through Reinhard's influence, 
he was appointed professor in Wittenberg, in 1811. He was at 



NOTES. 397 

a later period appointed by the university to confer with the 
Prussian court in regard to the union of the Wittenberg- and 
Halle universities, and in 1815, after the union, he became 
professor in Halle. On the death of Ersch, he took his place 
as one of the editors of the Literary Journal of Schiitz. His 
published works are numerous. 

Schott, Winzer and Heubner. — H. A. Schott went, in 
1812, to Jena, as professor of theology, where he continued to 
hold a very high rank in his profession, till his death in 1835. 
His Isagoge, or Introduction to the New Testament, is regarded 
as one of the very best. — J. F. Winzer was born in the same 
year with Schott, in 1780. He was formerly a teacher in 
the gymnasium at Meissen ; from 1809 he was professor in 
Wittenberg, and when this was closed, he was, in 1814, made 
professor of theology in Leipsic, where he still continues. His 
writings are known to the theologian. — H. L. Heubner is director 
of the Preacher's Seminary, which has taken the place of the 
university at Wittenberg, to which students now resort, after 
having studied theology at a university. He was, at first, made 
teacher, and afterwards professor in the university. In 1817, he 
was made third director, under Schleusner, and in 1832, first 
director in the Seminary. He is one of the most distinguished 
of the evangelical theologians. Nitzsch, of Bonn, is his disciple. 
K. H. L. Politz, mentioned a few lines below, was a few years 
teacher in the Knight's Academy, in Dresden, and afterwards 
professor in Wittenberg, and finally, in 1815, in Leipsic, where 
he died in 1838. His numerous writings in history, literature 
and statistics, have a high reputation. He was a very thorough 
scholar. 

Lobeck. — Christian Augustus Lobeck, professor of ancient 
literature in Konigsberg, and one of the most distinguished of 
Greek scholars, was born in Naumburg, in 1781, and studied at 
the gymnasium of the same place where his father was rector. 
In 1797, he entered the university of Jena, but in 1798 went 
to Leipsic, to study philology, and became one of the best of 
Hermann's disciples. In 1802, he became adjunct teacher in the 
university of Wittenberg, and without giving up this office, he 
was in 1807 made conrector, and in 1809 rector of the gymnasium 
of the same place. In 1810, appeared his Ajax of Sophocles, 
34 



39S CLASSICAL STUDIES. 

which established his reputation as a superior Greek scholar, 
and procured him, through Reinhard's influence, the appointment 
of professor extraordinarius. It was on entering this office, that 
he wrote his learned treatise De Morte Bacchi. In consequence 
of the interruptions at Wittenberg, occasioned by the war, 
he accepted, in 1814, a call to Kbnigsberg, in the place vacated 
by Erfurdt's decease, where, as teacher and director of the 
Philological Seminary, he has continued to labor, till the present 
time, with extraordinary success. His earliest disciples, who 
studied under him in Wittenberg, were Friedemann, Spohn and 
Spitzner. His writings are not numerous, but they are of the 
highest character. His Phrynicus will not suffer in comparison 
with any similar work of the age. His new edition of Ajax, 
with a very full commentary, published in 1835, is highly 
praised, though some men of another school of philology have 
found fault with it. His Aglaophamus, like his last principal 
work, Paralipomena Grammaticae Graecae, in two volumes, 
1837, show as well as his Phrynicus, that, in acquaintance with 
all the writers of the Greek language, he is scarcely excelled by 
any of the great scholars of his country. 

P. 188. K. D. Ilgen, formerly rector of Schul-Pforta, was 
one of Beck's first students. He was born in 1768. His great 
knowledge of classical and oriental philology procured for him, at 
the age of twenty-two, the office of rector in Naumburg, where 
he had commenced his studies when a boy. In 1794, he was 
appointed professor of oriental languages in Jena. From 1802 
to 1831 he labored with the most extraordinary success, as 
rector, to improve and reform the school which has educated 
more eminent philologists than any other gymnasium in Germany. 
He died in 1834, at Berlin, where he had retired on a pension. 
His edition of the Homeric Hymns is his chief work in classical 
literature, in which he held a distinguished place. 

Terrific article on Heyne. — This is the unjust review of Heyne's 
Homer, referred to by Wyttenbach, page 153, which appeared 
in the Literary Journal of Schiitz, in the May number, 1803. 
The materials were furnished by Wolf, Schiitz, Eichstaedt, 
and Voss, in concert, the last of whom was commissioned to 
draw up the article ; and he did not fail to pour in the gall. 



NOTES. 399 

P. 189. J. Schweighauser was born in Strasburg, in 1742, 
and died in the same place in 1830. His editions of Herodotus, 
Polybius, Athenaeus, Arrian, etc., gave him a high, and, in 
many respects, a permanent reputation. He was imprisoned, 
and banished from Strasburg during the French Revolution. 
He was afterwards restored to his professorship. 

Proposals from Munich. — Jacobs, in his autobiography, says : 
" The war was professedly brought to a close, by the peace of 
Tilsit, in 1807 ; but all the north of Germany seemed to rest on 
a volcano, while Bavaria, in the south, now a kingdom, appeared 
to be the only place which offered a secure retreat. * * At 
this time, I received a call to Munich, as professor of classical 
literature in the Lyceum, and as member of the Academy of 
Sciences, with the most favorable proposals." 

Schlichtegroll, one of the northern Germans, whom the 
Bavarian king had called around him, to raise the character of 
literature in Munich, wrote, under date of Munich, Nov. 30, 
1810, to Schiitz, thus : " What could I not relate to you of the 
malignity with which our enemies here endeavor to embitter our 
lives ! We have many things to contend with, but hope it will 
yet be acknowledged, that we have fought a good battle, for 
which all Protestants, and all men of learning, will thank us. 
Jacobs will leave this place in two or three days. My sorrow 
at his departure, amounts to absolute distress and melancholy. 
The king, the minister, the crown-prince, and many intelligent 
Bavarians, regard it as a national loss. The most honorable 
proposals are made to him ; but the thought of being obliged to 
sit with von Are tin, takes from him all inclination to remain 
here, where there is a noble sphere of action for him, and where 
he has already sown much good seed." 

P. 190. Thiersch. — Frederic William Thiersch, professor 
of classical literature, in Munich, was born in 1784. He 
studied under those admirable teachers, Lange and Ilgen, in 
Schul-Pforta, from 1798 to 1804, and then in Leipsic, under 
Hermann, and with Schafer, whence he went to Gottingen, to 
study under Heyne, in 1807. The latter, in a letter to Johannes 
von Miiller, said : " We have here in the university, a Thiersch, 
from Saxony, a young man of rare talent, fire, and strength. He 



400 CLASSICAL STUDIES. 

preached a short time since, and we were surprised at the young 
man's pulpit talents. * * He held his disputation, pro gradu 
a few days ago, and Wunderlich was his opponent. That was 
such a fete as we have not enjoyed for a long time." In 1809, 
he was chosen professor of the new gymnasium in Munich, and 
he made his way thither, through the French army, in the 
tumult of war. The minister, von Aretin, embittered his first 
years in Munich ; but the attempt made upon his life, opened 
the eyes of the public to the intrigues of that corrupt man. 
Thiersch has done more than any other man for Greek literature 
in the south of Germany. 

P. 191. What do you say, etc. — Wolf and Voss had hitherto 
been friends, but it is not strange, that two such fiery spirits 
should, at length, fall out with each other. Wolf, in one of his 
literary freaks, attempted to excel Voss in his own way, — in 
exact imitation of the Greek, in translation, and then called it all 
trifling, and thus, while he got a new plume for himself, he left 
poor Voss in an awkward condition. The younger Voss took 
up the defence, like a true knight. 

J. G. Gurlitt was born in 1754, and studied in Leipsic, his 
native city. From 1778 to 1802, he was teacher in Klosterbergen, 
whence he went to Hamburg, where he died, as Director of 
the Johanneum, a celebrated gymnasium, in 1827. He was 
distinguished for his writings on the archaeology of art, as well 
as for his general classical attainments. 

P. 192. Call to Gottingen. — Heeren, who was commissioned 
by the Westphalian government, to make proposals to Jacobs, 
wrote to him : " What is desired of you, is, to sustain the study 
of the classics, and particularly those studies which relate to 
the antiquities of art. If you should desire it, the circle of your 
studies can be enlarged. There is no wish to impose on you 
any duty which you may not like. I am directed to request 
you to make your own terms for entering into the service of the 
king. You have no occasion to fear that there will be any 
collision. All my expenses, including rent, and every thing, 
amount to from 1600 to 1800 rix dollars. You are at liberty 
to demand such a support as you may think necessary." 



NOTES. 401 

" Enticing as these proposals were," says Jacobs, " I could not 
overcome my scruples ; and, as all pecuniary considerations 
were anticipated and removed, I reflected upon my standing 
motto, si qua sede sedes, "let well alone," and declined the 
proposal. It has always been my opinion, that one ought, in 
all such cases, first to look within, and ask himself whether his 
shoulders are broad enough to bear the burden, and not till this 
question is settled, ought he to consider external circumstances. 
I never felt that I was adapted to a university life, and have, 
consequently, not prepared for it ; and I could hardly expect, in 
my forty- eighth year, to give my studies that extension which 
would be reasonably expected of a successor of Gesner and 
Heyne." 

P. 193. Wunderlich. — The following sketches respecting 
Wunderlich, are selected from Jacobs's Personalien. "About 
the close of the last century, Wunderlich, of Groussen, entered 
our gymnasium in Gotha. He was but a boy ; yet he had an 
insatiable thirst after knowledge. He hung upon me, and 
almost compelled me, by his naive entreaties, to give him 
private lessons in Greek, of which he had just acquired an 
elementary knowledge. Such was his power of memory, and 
his unremitting effort in study, that in a short time, he was so 
far advanced, as to be able, in connection with von Thiimmel, 
another of my pupils, to peruse the Oration on the Crown, which 
he afterwards edited. In the summer of 1801, he left the 
gymnasium, full of youthful confidence, for the university, for 
which he was well prepared. I recommended him to Heyne, 
whose letters to Johannes von Miiller, recently published, show 
with what paternal solicitude he watched over this young 
man. Heyne wrote me, under date of June 24, 1801 : ' Your 
Wunderlich comes so warmly recommended from you, that I 
begin already to regard him as a foster-son.' Huschke wrote 
me of him, Jan. 13, 1802 : ' I live on the most confidential terms 
with this friend and countryman of mine. He was recommended 
to me by you, and how could I do otherwise than receive him 
with open arms 1 Besides, I have found him to be exactly as you 
represented him. He has brought with him good acquisitions, 
no inconsiderable talent, and withal, a pretty fair supply 
34* 



402 



CLASSICAL STUDIES. 



of modest assurance. Nihil ineptius est hoc explicatione, is a 
kind of motto with him, when, in his remarks on .ZEschylus, he 
contradicts Schiitz. This daring begins gradually to disappear. 
Frequent hearty thrusts, given him in the nick of time, have 
cooled down his heated blood. Now, his contradictory corrective 
assertions run thus: mild displicet hoc; and I have accordingly 
changed my marginal remarks, and, instead of tu magis etiam 
ineptus, I now write, tuum magis etiam mihi displicet. And 
thus we both come to our good sense again. It is a pity that 
he has yet no taste for the Latin poets." Heyne, in his letter 
to Johannes von Miiller, then minister of education, dated, 
November, 1812, wrote thus: " Wunderlich will apply to you, 
on account of his call to Augsburg, which he will decline, if 
he can have the title of professor here. It is desirable to do all 
in our power not to lose him ; for philology he is my chief hope. 
He is assessor of the philological faculty ; reads lectures with 
much approbation, and is highly respected by the students, but 
he can devote only one-half his time to his lectures, being 
compelled to give private lessons nine hours a day, in order 
to support himself. It would be desirable to have a young 
undergrowth shooting up here, and such are Wunderlich, 
Thiersch and Dissen." He died of the quinsy, in 1816, 
while making a revision of the fourth edition of Heyne's 
Tibullus. 

P. 194. Godfrey Henry Schafer was born in Leipsic, in 
1764, and studied in the St. Thomas gymnasium, and in the 
university of his native city. Ernesti, Reiz, and Beck were his 
classical teachers. Some time after taking his master's degree, 
he became a publisher, in connection with another person in 
Leipsic. In 1810, he was elected professor in the Leipsic 
university, but he received only 150 rix dollars salary. The 
works edited by him are very numerous, and the observations 
added by himself, have a high value. His select classical 
library, consisting of 7,000 volumes, was sold to the university, 
in 1818, for 10,000 rix dollars. He contributed very many 
observations to the London edition of Stephens's Thesaurus; 
enough on the single particle, av, to constitute a volume. His 
notes to Demosthenes were pronounced by Hermann to be his 



NOTES. 403 

best work. By correcting the press for so many Greek authors, 
Schafer greatly injured, and finally destroyed his eye-sight. 
Passow, in a letter to H. Voss, under date of June 24, 1811, 
remarks; "I have begun to find my bearings in Schafer's 
Gregory of Corinth ; for I never was, and never expect to be, 
able to read such a book through in course. Schafer's 
unsubdued learning has always come forth too much in 
fragments, but they are the limbs of a Titan. He has never 
had time, as he complained in his Sophocles, to make use of all 
the notes he had collected, being obliged, from regard to profit, 
to write from memory. Seidler assures me, — what seems 
almost incredible, — that the same is true of his Gregory. If 
this man could have time to elaborate a work thoroughly, it 
would be incomplete in its parts, to be sure, but still the work 
of a giant. What is still more strange, is, that he studied 
theology, law, and medicine, before his attention was directed, 
by accident, to philology. He has translated, without his name, 
innumerable works on medicine, from the modern languages." 
In another letter, written three years later, he says: "I spent 
a few days in Leipsic, in pleasant intercourse with my faithful 
old Seidler, Hermann, and the indescribably good and cordial 
Schafer, from whom something splendid might have proceeded, 
if he had the power to throw off foreign influence." A second 
philological library which he had collected, he sold, when his 
eye-sight failed him, to the emperor of Russia. He spent the 
last years of his life in retirement, with his son-in-law, Hopfner, 
He died in 1840. 

P. 195. To illustrate the fiscal relations of the German 
universities, we will take Halle, in the year 1834, as a specimen. 
Its income was 70,737 rix dollars. Besides the above, there 
are 5,750 rix dollars, annually, for charitable purposes, 1000 of 
which go for the widows and orphans of deceased professors ; 
4,400 for free tables for poor students. Collections are taken 
four times in the churches in all Prussia, for students' stipends, 
and those which are made in the province of Saxony go to the 
Halle university. There are 108 free tables for the Lutheran 
church ; twenty for the Reformed church, and eleven for the 
Magdeburg students, making in all, 139. There are twenty 



404 



CLASSICAL STUDIES. 



stipends, at thirty rix dollars each ; thirty at twenty rix dollars 
each ; twenty-nine from the Wittenberg fund, at different values, 
and seven from legacies, making in all eighty-six stipends. 
The highest salary is two thousand rix dollars ; the lowest, one 
hundred rix dollars ; the largest number receive from three 
hundred to twelve hundred rix dollars. The professors have, 
besides their salaries, also the tuition-fees, the highest of which 
in Halle, in .1834, was two thousand five hundred; and the 
lowest, ten rix dollars. 

P. 198. Francis L. K. Passow, one of the most honored 
of recent German philologists, was born in Ludwigslust, in 
Mecklenburg, in 1786, and died as professor in Breslau, in 1833. 
His first classical teacher, Ernest Breem, as family tutor, inspired 
him early with a love of antiquity. In his 16th year he went to the 
gymnasium of Gotha, where Kaltwasser, Doring, Lenz, Kries, 
and, above all, Jacobs, exercised a forming influence upon his 
mind. Jacobs, in particular, became his beau-ideal of excellence 
in character not less than in scholarship. In 1804, he entered 
the university of Leipsic, where he studied privately, often 
residing out of town, and even journeying, and paying particular 
attention to no one's instructions except Hermann's. Here, in 
the Greek Society of Hermann, he was associated with Seidler, 
Weiske, Grafe, Hand, and Thiersch. In 1807, he was made 
professor of Greek, in the place of H. Voss, in the gymnasium 
in Weimar, and from that time to 1800, the flourishing condition 
of the school was owing to his efforts and those of his colleague 
Schulze. At the close of that period, he went to Jenkau, near 
Dantzic, where his enlarged system of effort would have done 
much for classical learning in that place, had not the disturbances 
of the war broken up the school. He returned to Berlin, and 
spent his time there as described in his letters. In 1814, he 
succeeded J. G. Schneider, where for a series of eighteen years, 
as professor of Greek, director of the Philological Seminary, and 
after 1829, as lecturer on the archeology of art, in connection 
with Charles Schneider, he succeeded in rendering Breslau 
scarcely inferior to any other university in the department of 
classical literature. C. O. Miiller, Wellauer, Gottling, Osann, 
and Weber of Bremen, are among his disciples. His Musaeus 



NOTES. 405 

appeared in 1810, his Germania of Tacitus, in 1817 ; his Nonnus 
was nearly finished at his death. He wrote some of the best 
critical articles which appeared in the reviews at his time. 

P. 200. John Schulze rose rapidly in public estimation, and 
after passing through various grades of honor, was, in 1818, 
associated with von Altenstein, the great minister of education 
in Prussia. It is to Schulze that Prussia is indebted, in a great 
degree, for the present flourishing condition of its gymnasia. 

P. 201. Of the Latin course, etc. — The plan of study, in 
regard to the two classic languages of antiquity, is thus laid 
down in the regulations for the gymnasia of the Grand Duchy of 
Hesse, in 1834. The course embraces eight years. — " The 
Latin language. Next to the German, the Latin langiiage is 
the most important branch of study, inasmuch as, by its simple 
character, it presents the clearest view of the grammatical 
structure of language, and being the source of several modern 
languages, it is the key to a thorough knowledge of them, and 
besides, it facilitates the understanding of scientific terms, and 
is, in fact, indispensable to the studies of those professions 
which have descended to us, historically, from earlier times. 
The eighth class is to have ten Latin exercises a week. A 
beginning is to be made with exercises in reading, according to 
the rules of accent and quantity; practice in grammatical forms, 
particularly the declensions and regular conjugations, and the 
general rules for the gender of words, to which may be added, 
the translation of simple sentences, or phrases containing 
nouns, with their qualifying words. The acquisition of a 
copia verborum is to be commenced with learning the vocabula 
domestica. The seventh class is to have eight Latin exercises 
weekly. Irregular forms, particularly anomalous and defective 
verbs, the derivation of words, and the simpler rules of syntax, 
are to be learned by this class, in connection with the translation 
of easy sentences from Latin into German, and from German 
into Latin. The sixth class, eight hours a week, in which 
attention is to be given to the syntaxis convenientiae et casuum, 
and the explanation of those peculiar forms of expression which 
are of the most frequent occurrence, such as the accusative with 



406 



CLASSICAL STUDIES. 



the infinitive, the ablative absolute, etc. Translations are to be 
made from Eutropius, Cornelius Nepos, Aurelius Victor, and 
Phaedrus, or from an approved Latin reader ; also, translations 
from German into Latin. The fifth class is also to have eight 
Latin exercises a- week, in which the doctrines of modes and 
tenses, and a systematic view of the structure of sentences are 
to be taught, accompanied with translations from German into 
Latin. To be read, Cornelius Nepos, Cassar, Justin, and Ovid's 
Tristitia. The fourth class, the same number of weekly Latin 
exercises, in which the construction of dependent clauses, and 
of participial constructions, is to be explained systematically, 
accompanied with translations from German into Latin. During 
this year, are to be read the Letters of the younger Pliny, 
Curtius, Florus, and easy selections from Cicero and Ovid's 
Metamorphoses. The second class, with seven exercises 
a-week, are to review general syntax, and be instructed in 
the elegances of the language, and in synonyms, and make 
written translations, for practice, in both. Here, too, free and 
extemporaneous exercises in Latin, and, in particular, metrical 
exercises are to be held; and the authors to be read, are Livy, 
Cicero's rhetorical works and epistles, Virgil's .ZEneid, and the 
odes and epistles of Horace. The first class, also, seven 
recitations a-week, in which the practical exercises of the last 
year are to be continued. The works to be read, are the 
Annals of Tacitus, Suetonius, Velleius Paterculus, Seneca's 
and Cicero's rhetorical works, Quintilian, Virgil's Georgics, 
Ovid's Fasti, the epistles and satires of Horace, Catullus, 
Tibullus, Persius, Juvenal and Plautus. 

'■'The Greek language, as the instrument by which the most 
cultivated nation of antiquity exhibited its views of the world, 
forms, together with the German and Latin, a necessary and 
highly important part of the system of education in the 
gymnasia. Instruction in this language is to be carried far 
enough to enable the student to read its literary productions, 
without any difficulties arising from grammatical constructions, 
but not so far as would be necessary, if the Greek were the 
common language of literature. Greek studies, therefore, are 
to relate more to the comprehension of the language, than to 
the formation of a Greek style. It is to be commenced, 



NOTES. 407 

accordingly, with the sixth class, with two exercises a-week, 
proceeding from a correct pronunciation, to a knowledge of 
grammar, as far as verbs in fit,, and to the translation of simple 
sentences. The fifth class, with four weekly exercises, is to 
learn the verbs in /m, the principles of derivation, and simpler 
rules of syntax. In the meantime, irregular forms of words are 
to be explained, the Greek roots to be committed to memory, 
and suitable parts of the chrestomathy to be read. In the 
fourth class, which is to have four Greek exercises a-week, 
through the year, the syntax of simple sentences must be 
taught systematically. Here, Xenophon's Anabasis is to be 
read, and, after preparatory instruction on the Ionic dialect, 
Herodotus, also, and the Odyssey, and with the interpretation 
of the last, are to be connected exercises in scanning. The 
third class, with five exercises a-week, will attend to the modes 
and tenses of verbs, and the syntax of compound sentences, 
in connection with which, the Cyropedia and Memorabilia of 
Xenophon, and Homer's Iliad will be read. The second class 
is to have six Greek exercises weekly, in which the whole body 
of the syntax is to be studied anew, the difficult constructions 
and idioms explained, and prosody to be mastered. The works 
to be read this year, are the Hellenica of Xenophon, Lucian, 
Plutarch, the Iliad, and a tragedy of Sophocles. The first 
class, which is to have six exercises a-week in this language, 
will attend to the more difficult metres, and read Thucydides, 
Demosthenes, some of the Dialogues of Plato, parts of iEschylus 
and Aristophanes, and Pindar and Theocritus." 

P. 203. Henry Voss, son of J. H. Voss, was born in 1779, 
in Otterndorf. He went to Halle, to study, in 1798, where he 
was cordially received by Wolf; and to Jena, in 1801, where he 
was as intimate with the Griesbach family and with Eichstaedt. 
He was afterwards rector of the gymnasia in Weimar, where 
he resided from 1804 to 1806 when he was made professor in 
Heidelberg, where he died in 1822. He gave an excellent 
translation of iEschylus. His labors on Aristophanes, in 
connection with his father, are also valuable. The translation 
of Shakspeare found less favor. 



408 CLASSICAL STUDIES. 

P. 204. Programm. — In the German universities and 
gymnasia this word properly signifies an announcement of some 
public exercise, such as a disputation, promotion, oration or 
examination. The programm itself generally contains an essay 
or dissertation. 

P. 205. The decision of Providence. — That decision took 
Passow away in the midst of his work, but not before he had 
established his reputation as the Greek lexicographer of his age. 
Rost has been engaged to carry out the design of Passow, in 
several successive editions, making each complete for the several 
Greek authors which shall be successively examined. In the 
meantime, Rost has commenced a Greek Thesaurus of his own, 
which shall, in respect to expense, be within the reach of all. 

P. 206. More than all the elegance of Johannes von Muller. — 
The author refers to an interesting collection of letters which 
passed between Gleine, Heinse, and von Muller. 

P. 207. My first lonely winter. — The almost unparalleled 
struggle which Prussia passed through, in her calamitous wars, 
had made it necessary to let the gymnasium at Jenkau go 
down. Passow considered his past labors there as lost ; he had 
been thus unhappily thrown out of employ. Meanwhile he was 
called to part with his wife, to whom he was unusually attached. 

P. 211. The materials for the article on the "School of 
Philology in Holland," may be found in Vitae Hemsterhusii 
et Ruhnkenii, cura Lindemann, Leipsic, 1822 ; Wyttenbachii 
Vita, ed. Mahne, Brunswick, 1825 ; van Heusde Initia Phil. 
Platonicae, Utrecht, 1827; and Lindemann 's Iter in Bataviam 
susceptum, published in Jahn's Leipsic Jahrbiicher. The article 
is, for the most part, condensed and abridged. Some passages 
are literally translated. 

P. 233. Paul held the office of first Silentiary under Justinian. 
The duties of this office consisted, in part, in keeping order in a 
house, and, in part, in acting as private secretary to the emperor. 



NOTES. 409 

Paul was the author of many epigrams. He possessed wit and 
taste, and was well read in the poets, but wrote in a diffuse style. 

P. 261. Wyttenbach's wife was Joanna Gallien, of Hanau. 
They were married on the seventeenth of February, 1817. He 
appears to have taken this step partly for the purpose of securing 
his estate to one who had long watched over his interests with 
assiduous attention. After his death, she removed to Paris. It 
is not known whether she is now living. She is represented as 
a very intellectual woman, and as the author of a number of 
interesting works. Among these are " Theogene," Paris, 1815 ; 
"The Banquet of Leontis, a dialogue on Beauty, Love and 
Friendship," Ulm, 1820; and "Alexis," a romance, Paris, 
1823. In 1827, she received from the university of Marburg the 
honorary degree of doctor of philosophy ! at the centennial 
celebration of that university. The following are the words 
of the diploma: " Auctoritate Guliehni II, Elector is Hessiae, 
promotor rite constitutus, C. A. L. Creuzer, Joannae Wyttenbach, 
genere Gallien, D. Wyttenbachii viduae immortali vita dignae, 
ob doctrinae elegantiam scriptis probatam antiquae urbanitatis 
odorem spirantibus, jura et ornamenta doctoris philosophiae 
artiumque liberalium magistri, ex philosophorum ordmis decreto-, 
hoc ipso die saeculari tribuit." 

P. 269. Use of the Greek Dialects. — This ingenious and 
eloquent discourse was delivered before the Munich Academy of 
Sciences, on the twelfth of October, 1808. The translator has 
ventured to condense the introductory paragraph, which refers 
to the king, on whose Saint's-day the session was held, and to 
omit part of the concluding page, in which the author takes 
occasion to pay a courtier's compliment to the royal patron of 
the Institution. As these passages are purely occasional, and 
have nothing to do with the subject treated of in the discourse, 
and as one specimen of this kind of academic flattery has been 
given, at the conclusion of the Discourse on Plastic Art, it was 
thought unnecessary to translate them at full length here. 

The views presented by Jacobs on this subject, have generally 
received the assent of scholars. With regard to epic poetry, 
however, Thiersch has given an account differing,, in some 
35 



410 CLASSICAL STUDIES. 

particulars, from the statement of our author. According to 
him, the language of epic poetry was originally the national 
language of the Greeks, — that is, it is not to he considered a 
dialect, but a language understood and used by the whole 
Grecian people, and cultivated to a high degree of beauty, 
copiousness, and picturesque power, by the bards of a very 
early period, who roamed over the continent and islands of 
Greece, in the practice of their musical profession. This 
language was called the Homeric, also, from Homer, the 
greatest of the bards. Afterwards, when the single States 
became free political communities, it lost its supremacy. The 
other dialects, which had remained in a rude and uncultivated 
state, now began to be used, the people regarding such usage as 
a mark of political independence. At length, with the progress 
of mental culture, the dialects advanced to a high degree of 
elegance and classical completeness. 

P. 287. Ferdinand G. Hand, professor of Greek literature 
in Jena, was born in Plauen, in Saxony, in 1786. He 
commenced his studies under private teachers, and on the 
removal of his father, as an ecclesiastical dignitary, to Sorau, in 
the eastern part of Prussia, the son entered the gymnasium of 
that place. In 1803, he went to Leipsic, to study under 
Hermann. In 1810, he was appointed professor in Weimar, 
in Passow's place, where, for seven years, he distinguished 
himself as a superior teacher. He was, in 1817, appointed 
director of the gymnasium in Schwerin, but the duke of 
Weimar, unwilling to lose such a teacher, gave him a 
professorship in Jena. As teacher of two daughters of the 
duke, he passed one year with them in Petersburg. His 
Turselinus, or work on Latin Particles, in three volumes, is 
justly regarded as one of the most valuable philological 
productions of the present century. His Manual of Latin 
Composition, Lehrbuch des Lateinischen Styls, from which the 
substance of the article on the Origin and Progress of the Latin 
Language is taken, has the reputation of being the best of the 
innumerable books which have been written on the subject. 
As a Latin scholar, he ranks among the first in Germany. He 



NOTES. 411 

is a popular writer, a skilful judge of music, and has received 
many marks of distinguished honor from the government. 

The article here presented, is taken from the second edition 
of the above-mentioned work, published in 1839. It has been 
much abridged, and somewhat altered in style and arrangement, 
so as to adapt it to the general character of the present volume. 

P. 315. Moral Education of the Greeks. — This is one 
of the longest and most elaborate of the occasional pieces of 
Jacobs. It contains a great deal of excellent thought, many 
passages of refined and scholarly eloquence, a delicate 
appreciation of the genius of ancient Greece, and, in some 
respects, no doubt, a just vindication of the moral character of 
the ancients. But, on some counts in the indictment for gross 
immorality, brought against the Greeks by the moderns, — 
particularly in regard to vices for which the modern languages 
happily have no recognized name, — his defence is inconclusive 
and unsatisfactory. The subject will not bear discussion, — 
hardly, indeed, allusion ; yet it was necessary to glance at it, as 
one topic out of many, to be considered in forming our estimate 
of ancient morality. The language of Jacobs has been 
somewhat tempered down in this part of his discussion, as a 
sense of decorum required ; but his ideas, with all that is 
essential to a faithful representation of them, have been 
scrupulously retained. Without going into particulars, it needs 
merely to be stated, that the testimonies of the ancients, — the 
best of them, — are numerous, full, and explicit, and go directly 
to the proof of a frightful and hideous extent of moral corruption 
and nameless infamy, certainly in the later ages of Greece. 
These vices of the Greeks were severely reprobated, no doubt, 
by thoughtful moralists, like Socrates and Plato ; but their 
commonness in Greek society is unhappily too well established. 
The Homeric age was unquestionably much purer in private 
morality, than what are called the Historical times. These 
authorities show, at the same time, that much of this corruption 
sprang from, or at least was favored by, the gymnasia, and other 
peculiar Hellenic institutions. The testimonies of the ancients 
on these points are so strong, that we must regard the favorable 
view so warmly and eloquently supported by Jacobs, as the error 



412 CLASSICAL STUDIES. 

of an enthusiastic scholar, led astray by too great partiality for 
his ancient favorites. " Who would not wish," says William 
Adolph Becker, professor in the university of Leipsic, while 
commenting on a passage from another work of Jacobs, in 
which he had expressed himself to the same effect, "who would 
not wish to be able to agree with the worthy author, could it be 
done otherwise than at the expense of truth ; if the facts did not 
so clearly and distinctly testify to the contrary, that one must 
have purposely shut his ear to their voice, to be able to deceive 
himself upon this subject?" In the curious and interesting 
notes to the " Charicles," the work here referred to, Becker has 
gone into a most minute, learned, and conclusive investigation of 
the subject, and, in his decision, — a decision from which no 
appeal can be taken, — has shown a delicacy and correctness of 
moral sense, no less creditable to his heart, than the admirable 
clearness of his reasoning upon the immense materials of his 
erudition, is to his intellectual ability. 

But the error of Jacobs in one respect, does not impair the 
general value of his opinions and researches, any more than a 
special immorality understood to exist, to some extent, among 
the ancients, impairs the general value of ancient literature. 
The subject being considered in this light, it has been thought 
best to admit this essay, though it contains some views which, as 
we have seen, are manifestly erroneous, and others, which are 
in the main correct, but which may be pressed too far. The 
author is a pure-minded man, and very enthusiastic in his favorite 
studies. The classics have manifestly exerted a salutary, as 
well as decided influence on his moral feelings and literary 
tastes. Hence, he may be in danger of overstating the good 
moral effects produced by the study. On persons of different 
temperament, the beneficial influence might be less decided, or 
might be positively injurious- Much is depending upon the 
manner in which one studies, and upon the particular authors 
with whom he is familiar. As a general thing, it may be stated, 
that the more thoroughly the study of the Greek and Roman 
writers is pursued, the less is the moral hazard which is 
incurred. 

It has been thought, however, that a defence of classical 
study, on the score of morality, would not be without its value, 



NOTES. 413 

though the reader should dissent from some of its positions. It 
is important to have hoth sides of an important question stated 
fairly and fully. In no other way, can one arrive at the exact 
truth. 

The unfavorable side of classical study, in respect to its moral 
bearings, has been elaborately discussed by Professor Tholuck, of 
Halle, in the first number of Neander's " Denkwurdigkeiten," 
a translation of which may be found in the second volume of the 
Biblical Repository. The late Dr. Gesenius, though differing 
widely from the views advanced by Tholuck, pronounced it to 
be the ablest article which had appeared on the subject. In the 
course of his argument, the author discusses the origin of 
heathenism ; the estimation in which their religion was held by 
themselves ; the character of polytheism, and of the deification 
of nature in general, and of the Grecian and Roman religions in 
particular ; the influence of heathenism on the life of the Greeks 
and Romans ; the sensuality of polytheism, and its entire moral 
weakness. These various points are illustrated with a profusion 
of learning, and supported with not a little solid argument. The 
extreme laxity of morals, especially in the later ages of the 
Greeks and Romans, is but too obvious, the classical writers 
themselves being witnesses. Many things in their modes of life, 
manners and customs, etc., appear to be wholly indefensible. 
The natural effect of them on the corrupt minds of the great 
mass of the people was bad, though individuals of refined and 
virtuous sentiment might, and did, deduce valuable lessons from 
them. 

The concluding paragraph, — being merely occasional, — has 
been modified and abridged in the translation ; but the substance 
of it has been preserved. 



bctluablc ft)0rk0, 

PUBLISHED AND FOR SALE BY 

GOULD, KENDALL AND LINCOLN, 

PUBLISHERS, BOOKSELLERS, AND STATIONERS, 

59 WASHINGTON STREET. 

ISIS 1 ®!. 



ELEMENTS OE POLITICAL ECONOMY, 

By Francis Wayland,. D. D., President of Brown University. 

SIXTH EDITION. 

This work is adopted as a text-book in many of our principal Colleges, and 
has an extensive sale. 

THE ELEMENTS OF 

POLITICAL ECONOMY, ABRIDGED. 

ADAPTED TO THE USE OF SCHOOLS AND ACADEMIES. 

The success which has attended the abridgment of the " The Elements of 
Moral Science," has induced the author to prepare the following abridgment 
of " The Elements of Political Economy." In this case, as in the other, the 
work has been wholly re-written, and an attempt has been made to adapt it to 
the attainments of youth. 

"The original work of the author, on Political Economy, has already been 
noticed on our pages; and the present abridgment stands in no need of a recom- 
mendation from us. We may be permitted, however, to say, that both the rising 
and risen generations are deep.y indebted to Dr. Wayland, for the skill and power 
he has put forth to bring a highly important subject distinctly before them, within 
such narrow limits. Though "abridged for the use of academies," it deserves to 
be introduced into every private family, and to be studied by every man who has an 
interest in the wealth and prosperity of his country. It is a subject little under- 
stood, even practically, by thousands, and still less understood theoretically. It 
is to be hoped, this will form a class book, and be faithfully studied in our acade- 
mies; and that it will find its way into every family library; not there to be shut 
up unread, but to afford rich material for thought and discussion in the family 
circle. It is fitted to enlarge the mind, to purify the judgment, to correct erro- 
neous popular impressions, and assist every man in forming opinions of public 
measures, which will abide the lest of time and experience."— Boston Recorder. 

"An abridgment of this clear, common sense work, designed for the use of 
academies, is just published. We rejoice to see such treatises spreading among 
the people: and we urge all who would be intelligent freemen, to read them." — 
Netc York Transcript. 

"We can say, with safety, that the topics are well selected and arranged; that 
the author's name is a guarantee for more than usual excellence. We wish it an 
extensive circulation." — New York Observer. 

"It is well adapted to high schools, and embraces the soundest system of 
republican Political Economy of any treatise extant."— Daily Advertiser. 



ELEMENTS OE MORAL SCIENCE, 

BY FRANCIS WAYLAND, D. D. 

President of Brown University, and Professor of Moral Philosophy. 

Twenty-First Thousand. 

tCS^This work has been extensively and favorably reviewed in the leading 
periodicals of the day, and has already been adopted as a class-book in most of 
the collegiate, theological, and academical institutions of the country. 

" It will be gladly adopted by those who have for a long time been dissatisfied 
with existing text-books, particularly the work of Paley. The style is simple 
and perspicuous, and at the same time manly and forcible. It is an eminent 
merit of the author, that he has made a system of Christian morals. We consider 
the work as greatly superior to any of the books hitherto in use, for academic 
instruction." — Lit. and Theol. Review. 

''The work of Dr. Wayland has arisen gradually from the necessity of correcting 
the false principles and fallacious reasonings of Paley. It is a radical mistake, in 
the education of youth, to permit any book to be used by students as a text-book, 
which contain erroneous doctrines, especially when these are fundamental, and 
tend to vitiate the whole system of morals. We have been greatly pleased with 
the method which Pres. Wayland has adopted : ho goes back to the simplest and 
most fundamental principles; and, in the statement of his views, he unites per- 
spicuity with conciseness and precision. In all the author's leading fundamental 
principles we entirely concur."— Bib. Rep. and Theol. Review. 

From Rev. Wilbur Fisk, Pres. of the Wesleyan University. 
"I have examined it with great satisfaction and interest. The work was 
greatly needed, and is well executed. Dr. Wayland deserves the grateful 
acknowledgments and liberal patronage of the public. I need say nothing 
further to express my high estimate of the work, than that we shall immediately 
adopt it as a text-book in our university." 

From Hon. James Kent, late Chancellor of the State of Neio York. 
"The work has been read by me attentively and thoroughly, and I think very 
highly of it. The author himself is one of the most estimable of men, and I do 
not know of any ethical treatise, in which our duties to God, and to our fellow- 
men, are laid down with more precision, simplicity, clearness, enerey, and 
truth." 



THE ELEMENTS OF 

MORAL SCIENCE, ABRIDGED. 

ADAPTED TO THE USE OF SCHOOLS AND ACADEBIIES. 

Seventeenth Thousand. 

H3=The attention of Teachers and School Committees is invited to this 
valuable work. It has received the unqualified approbation of all who have 
examined it; and it is believed to be admirably adapted to exert a wholesome 
influence on the minds of the young, and lead to the formation of correct moral 
principles. 

"Dr. Wayland has published an abridgment of his work for the use of schools. 
Of this step we can hardly speak too highly. It is more than time that the study 
of Moral Philosophy should be introduced into all our institutions of education. 
We are happy to see the way so auspiciously opened for such an introduction. 
It has been "not merely abridged, but also re-ioritten." We cannot but regard 
the labor as all well bestowed. The difficulty of choosing words and examples so 
as to make them intelligible and interesting to the child, is very great. The 
success with which Dr. Wayland appears to have overcome it, is, in the highest 
degree, gratifying.". — North American Review. 



MISSIONARY ENTERPRISE. 

It has been well said, that " to imbue men thoroughly with the missionary 
spirit, roe must acquaint them intimately with the missionary enterprise." The 
spirit of missions seems every where to be increasing. The circulation of printed 
documents, and other like efforts, are giving a new impetus to the cause. 

The following valuable ivorks contain just the kind of information needed. 
Let every one purchase and read them. 



ORIGIN AND HISTORY OF MISSIONS; 

A Record of the Voyages, Travels, Labors, and Successes of the various Missionaries 

who have been sent forth by Protestant Societies to evangelize the Heathen. 

Compiled from authentic Documents. 

FORMING A COMPLETE MISSIONARY REPOSITORY. 

Illustrated by numerous Engravings, made expressly for this work. 

By Rev. John O. Choules, A. M., and Rev Thomas Smith. 

Sixth Edition. Enlarged and Improved. 

RECOMMENDATIONS. 
From the Secretary of the Am. B. C. F. Missions. 
£CJ=It is the most comprehensive, and the best extant. It contains a rich store 
of authentic facts, highly important both to the minister and the private Christian, 
To the former, it will be an invaluable assistant in his preparations for the monthly 
concert and other missionary meetings; and in the family, it will furnish instruc- 
tive and useful employment to the members, of different ages, in many an hour 
that otherwise might not be so profitably occupied. R. Anderson. 

From the Secretaries of the Am. Bap. Board of Foreign Missions. 

The History of Missions, as its name denotes, is a narrative of the means and 

methods by which the gospel has been propagated in pagan lands, beginning with 

the earliest efforts of the church, but presenting more at large the origin and 

grogress of the principal missionary institutions of the last and present centuries, 
ieing derived from authentic sources, and fitted, by its happy selection of inci- 
dents, to cherish an intelligent interest in the subjects of which it treats, we. hope 
it will secure an extensive circulation. It is worthy of a place in every Christian 
library. Lucius Bolles, 

Solomon Peck. 

THE GREAT COMMISSION. 

Or the Christian Church constituted and charged to convey the gospel to the world. 
By Rev. John Harris, D. D., author of ' Mammon,' ' Great Teacher,' &c. 
With an Introductory Essay, by William R. Williams, D. D., 
of New York. Second Edition. 12mo. Cloth. 
83=This work was written in consequence of the offer of a prize of two hundred 
guineas, by several prominent individuals in Scotland, for the best essay on 
"The duty, privilege, and encouragement of Christians to send the gospel of 
salvation to the unenlightened nations of the earth." The adjudicators (David 
Welsh, Ralph Wardlaw, Henry Melville, Jabez Bunting, Thomas S. Crisp) state 
" that fo rtyt wo essays were received, and. after much deliberation, the essay of 
Dr. Harris was placed first. They were influenced in their decision'by the senti- 
ment, style, and comprehensiveness of the essay, and by the general adaptation 
to the avowed object of the prize." 
This work has received the highest commendation. 



THE 

KAREN APOSTLE; 

Or, Memoir of Ko Thah-Byu, the first Karen convert, with notices concerning his 

Nation. With maps and plates. By Rev. Francis Mason, Missionary. 

American edition. Edited by Professor Henry J. Ripley, 

of Newton Theological Institution. 

S3=This is a work of thrilling interest, containing the history of a remarkable 
man, and giving, also, much information respecting the Karen Mission, heretofore 
unknown in this country. It must be sought for, and read with avidity by those 
interested in this most interesting Mission. 

It gives an account, which must be attractive from its novelty, of a people that 
have been but little known and visited by missionaries, till within a few years. 
The baptism of Ko-Thah Byu in 1828, was the beginning of the mission, and at 
the end of these twelve years, 1270 Karens are officially reported as members of 
the churches, in good standing. The mission has been carried on pre-eminently 
by the Karens themselves, and there is no doubt, from much touching evidence 
contained in this volume, that they are a people peculiarly susceptible to religious 
impressions. The account of Mr. Mason must be interesting to every one. 

" Perhaps no nation, recently discovered, has attracted or deserved more general 
interest than the Karen. All will be delighted to read the memoir of one, who 
united with the common characteristics of his countrymen, such an extraordinary 
degree of zeal, sf perseverance, and success, in the propagation of the gospel 
which he himself first received in faith and in love."— Baptist Advocate. 

"It is a valuable addition to the volumes now multiplying, which bear testimony 
to the valuable character and results of the missionary work." — Ch. Intelligencer. 

"This work will be read with interest, showing, as it does, the power of the 
gospel upon a degraded people, and the rich blessings it confers upon the heathen, 
both as it respects this life and the life to come. What can be more interesting 
to a Christian mind, than to see the darkness which, by nature, broods over the 
human mind, dispelled by the light of the gospel, and a benighted spirit guided to 
a world of eternal day. A striking instance of this, the memoir presents. It also 
shows how the gospel can raise up an individual from the depths of wretchedness 
and crime, and make him, though possessed of small natural abilities, a rich 
blessing to his fellow-men." — Vermont Chronicle. 

"It is an interesting little volume, and gives a vivid picture of the influence of 
the Christian religion in taming, subduing, and elevating a rough and darkened 
mind. The historical notices of the Karen people we have read with pleasure." — 
Bangor Courier. 

"This volume abounds in that kind of interest which belongs to personal narra- 
tive; and the effect of good teaching upon 'new minds. 5 is admirably illustrated." 
—Phil. U. S. Gaz. 



MEMOIR OF 

ANN H. JUDSON, 

Late Missionary to Burmah, including a history of the American Baptist Mission 

in the Burman Empire. By Rev. James D. Knowles. A new edition. 

With a continuation of the History down to the present year. 

D3"" We are particularly gratified to perceive a new edition of the Memoirs of 

Mrs. Judson. She was an honor to our country — one of the most noble spirited 

of her sex. It cannot, therefore, be surprising, that so many editions, and so 

many thousand copies of her life and adventures have been sold. The name— the 

long career of suffering — the self-sacrificing spirit of the retired country girl, 

have spread over the whole world; and the heroism of her apostleship and almost 

martyrdom, stands out a living and heavenly beacon-fire, amid the dark midnight 

of ages, and human history and exploits. She was the first woman who resolved 

to become a missionary to heathen countries." 



MEMOIR OF 

GEORGE DANA BOARDMAN, 

Late Missionary to Burmah, containing much intelligence relative to the Burman 

Mission. By Rev. Alonzo King. New edition. With an Introductory Essay, 

by a distinguished Clergyman. Embellished with a Likeness; a 

beautiful Vignette, on Steel, representing the baptismal 

scene just before his death; and a drawing of his 

Tomb, taken by Rev. Howard Malcom. 

D3 = In noticing the lamented death of Mr. Boardman, Mr. Judson, in one of his 
letters, thus speaks of his late worthy co-worker on the fields of Burmah: 

"One of the brightest luminaries of Burmah is extinguished, — dear brother 
Boardman is gone to his eternal rest. He fell gloriously at the head of his troops, 
in the arms of victory, — thirty-eight wild Karens having been brought into the 
camp of king Jesus since the beginning of the year, besides the thirty-two that 
were brought in during the two preceding years. Disabled by wounds, he was 
obliged, through the whole last expedition, to be carried on a litter; but his 
presence was a host, and the Holy Spirit accompanied his dying whispers with 
almighty influence. Such a death, next to that of martyrdom, must be glorious 
in the eyes of heaven. Well may he rest, assured, that a triumphal crown awaits 
him on the great day, and ' Well done, good and faithful Boardman, enter thou 
into the joy of thy Lord." 

From Rev. Baron Stoic. 
No one can read the Memoir of Boardman, without feeling that the religion of 
Christ is suited to purify the affections exalt the purposes, and give energy to the 
character. Mr. Boardman was a man of rare excellence, and his biographer, by a 
just exhibition of that excellence, has rendered an important service, not only to 
the cause of Christian missions, but to the interest of personal godliness. 

Baron Stow. 

MALCOM'S TRAVELS 

IN SOUTH-EASTERN ASIA. 

embracingHindustan, Blalaya, Siam, and China; with notices of numerous 

missionary stations; and a full account of the Burman Empire; 

with Dissertations, Tables, &c. In two volumes, 

beautifully illustrated. Sixth edition. 

By Howard Malcom. 

MEMOIR OF 

WILLIAM CAREY, D. D. 

FORTY YEARS MISSIONARY IN INDIA. 

By Eustace Carey. With an Introductory Essay, by Francis Wayland, D. D. 

With a Likeness. 

During the forty years which Dr. Carey labored in the missionary cause, he was 
instrumental in the publication of 212,000 volumes of the Scriptures, in forty 
different languages, embracing the vernacular tongues of at least 27,000,000 of the 
human race, besides performing other labors, the enumeration of which would 
seem almost incredible. 



ANTIOCH: 

Or, Increase of Moral Power in the Church of Christ. By Rev. Pharcelltjs 
Church. With an Introductory Essay, by Rev. Baron Stow. 

P3"" Here is a volume which will make a greater stir than any didactic work 
that has been issued for manyaday. It is a book of close and consecutive thought, 
and treats of subjects which are of" the deepest interest, at the present time, to the 
churches of this country. 

"The author is favorably known to the religious public, as an original thinker, 
and a forcible writer, — his style is lucid and vigorous. The Introduction, by Mr. 
Stow, adds much to the value and attractions of the volume." — Chr. Reflector. 

" By some this book will be condemned, by many it will be read with pleasure, 
because it analyzes and renders tangible, principles that have been vaguely con- 
ceived in many minds, reluctantly promulgated and hesitatingly believed. We 
advise our brethren to read the book, and judge for themselves." — Bap. Record. 

"It is the work of an original thinker, on a subject of great practical interest to 
the church. It is replete with suggestions, which, in our view, are eminently 
worthy of consideration." — Philadelphia Christian Observer. 

"This is a philosophical essay, denoting depth of thinking, and great originality. 
* * * * He does not doubt, but asserts, and carries along the matter with his 
argument, until the difference of opinion with which the reader started with the 
writer is forgotten by the former, in admiration of the warmth and truthfulness of 
the latter. "—Phil. U. S. Gazette. 

THE PSALMIST, 

A New Collection of Hymns, for the use of the Baptist Denomination. 
By Baron Stow and S. F. Smith. 

This work contains about twelve hundred Hymns, original and selected; with 
words for select music, and a few pages of chants at the end. 

The acknowledged ability of the editors for the task ; the length of time occupied 
in making the compilation; the uncommon facilities enjoyed, of drawing from the 
best sources in this and other countries; the new, convenient, and systematic plan 
of arrangement adopted; the quality and style of getting up, &c. &c. give the 
publishers confidence in the belief, that it is a work of far superior merit to any 
collection now before the public. 

THE CHRISTIAN MINIATURE LIBRARY. 

Elegantly bound in Cloth, Gilt Edges. 

THE BIBLE ANB THE CLOSET; 

Or, how we may read the Scriptures with the most spiritual profit. 

By Thomas Watson; and Secret Prayer successfully managed. 

By Rev. Samuel Lee; ministers ejected in 1662. 

Edited by Rev J. O. Choules. With 

a Recommendatory Letter. 

By Rev. E. N. Kirk. 

THE CASKET OF FOUR JEWELS, 

For Young Christians. Containing A polios— Growth in Grace — The 
Golden Censer — and The Christian Citizen. 

THE MARRIAGE RING; 

Or, how to make Home Happy. By Rev. John Angell James. 



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